


Simon vs. the World Cup

by imawrite4u



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-07-10 23:03:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15959432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imawrite4u/pseuds/imawrite4u
Summary: Simon and his friends enter a World Cup challenge put on by their local professional soccer clubs, who are raising money for a good cause.  Will this bring Simon closer to Bram?  Will Jacques and Blue finally find each other?





	1. Simon's Bracket

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the book more than the movie but is a little bit AU. Blue and Jacques have been emailing and have not yet met in person, but Martin never found the emails and never outed Simon, there was no carnival, neither one has come out to friends or family yet, and the summer between the Creekwood gang’s junior and senior year is 2018. Some spoilers from Leah on the Offbeat, and Leah’s story here is slightly different from a timeline perspective than in Leah on the Offbeat.
> 
> The contest in the story is completely made up, although the professional soccer teams named in the story do exist.

School was out for the summer, junior year over, and the Creekwood gang was getting into the World Cup.  Garrett had heard that the local pro soccer teams, the Atlanta United FC men’s team and the North Carolina Courage women’s team, were doing a joint fundraiser for Boys & Girls Clubs by giving away soccer balls signed by both teams' players for the top three finishers in a World Cup contest. For a donation of $10, participants could choose to enter a bracket in the contest.  Garrett was excited about it and told all the guys on the Creekwood boys’ soccer team. Of course Bram and Nick were in and that meant Simon and Leah and Abby were in too. Then Leah told her band mates, and Nora and Anna and Morgan wanted in too. Taylor Metternich was off at acting camp for the summer, but no one seriously thought she would care if they didn’t bother to tell her about it.

It was June 8, the Friday night before the start of the World Cup. The brackets had to be entered into the contest website by 9:00 a.m. on June 14, so Simon had a lot of time left, but he wanted to work on it before he and Leah got together on Sunday after work. They were both working at Waffle House Sunday and planned to get together after that to work on their brackets. But Simon wanted to figure out his bracket now, while he had some peace and quiet, so that when he and Leah got together they could mostly just hang out. He didn’t get much time alone with Leah anymore it seemed, and he missed his best friend.

Simon sat at his desk, laptop on and paper copies of the group-play chart and the knockout bracket next to his laptop.  He had thought about this all day at work, and he finally had an inspiration about how he was going to pick his teams. He was clueless about soccer other than knowing he liked to watch the high school boys' team play.  Especially Cute Bram.  Mmm.  

He let his mind wander a little.  Dark brown eyes (almost the color of Oreos!), soccer calves. Mmm-mmm-mmm. He used to think Bram was definitely straight. But now he was pretty sure Bram was gay. Based on clues from all the emails between Jacques and Blue, Bram was on Simon's short list of who Blue could be.  Blue had said that he was pretty sure he knew Jacques’s identity, so that probably meant that Blue was someone Simon knew. And Blue had said that his dad was an English teacher and liked getting copies of Blue’s essays for Hanukkah, which, added to the way Blue wrote, made Simon pretty sure Blue was in AP English. So if Blue had had Mr. Wise for English junior year, that was huge. Simon still wasn't sure if Blue had been in the same AP English class as Simon, since there were two of them, but if so, Simon was pretty sure Bram was Blue. There had only been thirteen boys in Simon’s English class last year, other than Simon, and Simon was certain that at least ten of them were straight. Cal was in that class, and he had quietly come out to the theater kids last year as bisexual, but Simon had eliminated him as a candidate for being Blue after he gave a list of facts about Cal to Blue and found out that three of them were wrong. But Simon had learned from that exchange that Blue’s name was the same as a president and the same as an obscure comic book character. So if Blue was in Simon’s English class, he was Bram or one other guy, David, who Simon hadn’t completely eliminated as a candidate only because Simon didn’t know him well. But Simon didn’t get any kind of gay vibe from David and was pretty sure he had seen David holding hands with a girl at Perimeter Mall over spring break. And the only president whose first name was David was Eisenhower, and he had changed his name from David Dwight to Dwight David, so Simon wasn’t sure if he could count David as the name of a president. So if Blue had been in the same English class as Simon last year, he was almost definitely Cute Bram.

But Simon still wasn’t positive. There was one other AP English class, and there was a guy in that class named Andrew that Simon sort of knew who might possibly be gay and shared a name with a president and a comic book vampire, so he was a possibility, but Simon didn’t think so. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure Bram was Blue. He knew Bram liked Oreos, for example. Lots of people like Oreos though. But he also knew that Bram hadn’t dated any girls last year, which, added to the fact that he finally figured out that Bram’s real name was Abraham (thanks for blurting it out one day, Garrett!), pretty much sealed it.

Simon was dying to find out, and he hoped that the whole World Cup thing would give him a chance to talk to Bram this summer and figure it all out for sure and, if he was right, convince Bram that they should meet in real life. Cute Bram. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Simon could hardly stand it. He was pretty sure Bram had noticed Simon staring at him a few times. He really wanted Bram to be Blue. What a freaking package of awesomeness that would be. Beautiful brown eyes and soccer calves to go with the twinkly sense of humor, beautiful writing, warmth, and dare he think this, sexiness? Yeah, baby. Definitely. 

So when Garrett brought up the contest, Simon was all in.  It would give him something to talk to Bram about to confirm that Bram was Blue.  But even though Simon had gone to the boys' soccer games for years because he was friends with Nick and then later pretty much with everyone on the team, Simon never paid attention to the finer points of the game, and he had no idea who the best international teams and players were. So at work today, he had decided that, since he had no chance of winning anyway, he would pick his teams based on hotness of the players. So there he sat, at his desk, looking back and forth between the computer and his group-play paper that showed the 32 teams divided up into eight groups of four, Groups A through H. As he took notes, he wiggled back and forth in his chair, and when he was doing his research, he wiggled his pencil up and down so fast that it looked like a butterfly. Every once in a while he ran his fingers through his hair.  It was sticking out all over.  

He could have picked the teams randomly or done some research on who was good, but he knew he would never figure that out in the time his attention span would allow him to put together his bracket, and basing his choices on player hotness was way more interesting. And he didn’t care if he won anyway. What would he do with a soccer ball?  He was doing this to get to know Bram better.  Winning wasn't even a consideration. 

Once he had his system down, the first few groups went pretty fast.  Simon found pictures of the teams online, at least the starting eleven players, and blew the pictures up on the screen and scrutinized them carefully. He quickly chose Uruguay then Egypt in Group A and Morocco then Spain in Group B.  No Portugal, which would appall Nick, but Simon wasn't even aware that Cristiano Ronaldo was on Team Portugal.  And really, who was Cristiano Ronaldo?  He knew Nick went as him for Halloween, but that really meant nothing to Simon.  On to Group C, with Denmark an easy first pick, then France.  For Group D, he picked Nigeria then Iceland.  Somehow, even he knew that leaving out Argentina seemed odd, but he didn't care. Argentina was third in his ranking for Group D, so too bad for Argentina.  Group E was really easy, with Brazil way out front, followed by Costa Rica.  But Group F was a tougher call.  Mexico was an easy first pick but he went back and forth between South Korea and Germany.  He finally picked Germany after looking over the teams again, but he was not sure even as he penciled in Germany as his number two in Group F.  And Group G, wow.  Panama came out on top but then England and Belgium were tied.  He looked the teams over again and picked England.  And then kicked out Germany from Group F and put in South Korea after all.  Finally, Group H was a pretty easy choice of Japan and then Senegal.  

The hard part done, he just had to enter his group play winners into his brackets. But then he realized he had to pick the winners of all the later games.  Okay, good thing he had assigned numbers to each of the teams on his group-play paper. Each team’s number was equal to the number of hot starting players on the team, and for the knockout rounds, for each game, he chose as the winner the team with the higher number.  But he projected a tie between Uruguay and Spain.  What to do, what to do?  Well, Uruguay did better against the rest of Group A than Spain did against the rest of Group B, so Uruguay it was.  

The next tie was Panama and Senegal, so he compared them to their respective group-play opponents and then had to do the same for Mexico and Japan in the next round.  This was taking forever.  Finally he was down to the final between Brazil and Mexico and the third-place game between Denmark and Morocco.  Two more ties.  He went with his gut finally and picked Brazil to win and Denmark to get third.  He felt pretty good about his bracket, actually.  Having a system and thinking about the teams at least made him a little more familiar with who was playing.  

He logged onto the website for the contest, made a $10 donation, made sure he was logged into the Creekwood subgroup, picked a name for his entry, Simon Says, and filled out his bracket on line.  Fortunately, the site allowed for payment by Paypal since he didn’t have a credit card. Simon wondered if Bram would pick up on the Simon Says name, like Jacques a dit, in French, but he didn’t think Bram knew any French. And if Bram did figure it out, that would be freaking awesome anyway. But it only worked if Bram was Blue. But he had to be, right?

Simon’s was the second entry in the Creekwood subgroup.  Nick had already posted his bracket under Ronaldo Rules.  Simon looked at it and saw it was pretty different than Simon's. Well, that was okay. Anything could happen in the World Cup, and he just wanted to be able to talk to Bram.  He figured that would be win-win.  If Cute Bram did turn out to be straight, he was still a good guy, so nothing to lose and Simon would have another data point in the process of figuring out who Blue was.  And if Bram did turn out to be Blue, well, that would be a total win.  Mmm. He logged out after making sure that he could change his brackets up until Thursday if he decided to change his method of choosing teams.

After he logged out, he realized that when his friends asked him how he picked his teams, he was either going to have to tell them the truth or pull off a lie about picking randomly or something. He kind of sucked at lying, so that probably wouldn’t work. Okay, he had basically been lying by omission by not telling them about being gay, but that was different than lying in answer to a direct question. Then again, he was really tired of keeping his secret. He felt like maybe he was ready to come out, at least to his family and friends. He thought Nora and Alice might suspect something already anyway. They had stopped asking about potential girlfriends for one thing. That was odd. Crap. Why did he have to come out at all? Maybe he could just get together with Blue and let people figure it out. But what if he met Blue in person and things didn’t work out? Ugh. Why did this have to be so hard?

FROM: [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO: [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE: Jun 8 at 11:17 PM

SUBJECT: World Cup

Blue,

So, you may not believe this, but I’ve just filled out my brackets for the World Cup. Did you hear about the contest for the Boys and Girls Clubs? The one being put on by the North Carolina Courage and Atlanta United? I didn’t even know those teams existed but one of my friends found this contest and it’s only $10 to enter and the money all goes to the Boys and Girls Clubs so a bunch of us decided to enter. I’m sure like a million people will enter since it’s a fundraiser and all, so none of my friends will win (and no way I will; more on that below), but whoever of us does best gets bragging rights I guess, so that’s awesome.

You’ll never guess how I picked the teams for my bracket. I’ve told you I’m not much of an athlete, right? I don’t know anything about international teams except that Ronaldo Somebody is my friend’s favorite player. So I decided to have fun with it and made my picks based on relative team hotness. Pretty freaking genius, right? Made filling out my brackets fun, although now that I think about it, I don’t know how I’m going to explain my picks to everyone. I hadn’t thought about that until just a few minutes ago. !!!!! I’m wondering if maybe I’m ready to come out to my closest friends and my family. I’m just so tired of hiding it. Have you thought more about it?

Love,

Jacques


	2. The Girls Get a Pedicure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonding among the girls.

The next day, Saturday, Abby, Leah, Morgan and Anna were getting pedicures. It was Abby’s idea to take Anna out for her birthday, and even though Leah usually got everyone cake for their birthday, when Abby said they all deserved a trip to the salon because they all worked on their feet that summer as waitresses (Abby and Leah), at a book store (Anna, sort of; she mostly read manga in the stacks) and at a pet orphanage (Morgan), Leah agreed. And she knew Anna would love having someone else paint her toenails a nice, shiny black. Abby had actually asked Nick to get the guys to come too, but Nick just looked at her like she was crazy even for asking.

“We need to do this for everyone’s birthday,” said Morgan.

“I’m in,” said Leah, surprising herself. She was a little afraid to admit to herself how much fun she was having. “After I win the lottery,” she added. She had never had a pedicure except when she and her mom did it at home; it wasn’t in the budget. And when they did it home, there were no hot rock massages. Who knew a citrus scrub and foot massage could feel so good? Forget boys, girls, Abby. Leah was ready to marry the woman giving her the pedicure. For real. She would have to pick up a few extra shifts at Waffle House this summer to stash some mad money away for another pedicure before school started. “Abby, you have ruined me,” she said, just a little whiny. Abby grinned. God, she was beautiful.

“Hey, have y’all filled in your World Cup brackets yet?” asked Abby. “I don’t know squat about soccer but Nick is obviously really into it and the Boys and Girls Clubs do good work, so I want to do it. Maybe instead of going out tonight we could hang out and eat popcorn and fill in brackets,” she suggested.

“That sounds great,” said Anna. “I’m having a birthday dinner with my mom and dad and brother, but maybe after that?”

“Oh, I can’t tonight,” replied Leah. “I’m working. But y’all go ahead.”

“You sure?” asked Morgan. “We could take Anna out for a wild night on the town and do World Cup stuff another night.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Really. Simon and I had already talked about getting together tomorrow to do it after work and let’s face it, he needs all the help he can get.” Leah was looking forward to hanging out with Simon, just the two of them. She was thinking of telling him she was bisexual. She had tried several times but had chickened out each time, but she just knew he would be okay with it and she wanted someone to talk to other than her mom, who was constantly trying to point out cute girls to her. She had tried explaining to her mom that bisexual was different than homosexual, but her mom just pointed out the cute girls. Leah loved her mom, but really.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” said Abby. “You two in?” she confirmed with Anna and Morgan. “Popcorn at my house, around eight-thirty?”

“Cool,” said Morgan. “I’ll bring drinks. Coke,” she clarified.

“Great,” said Anna. “I’ll be home from my family dinner by then. My parents never want to keep my little brother out very late. And since you’re hosting, Abby, I’ll bring the popcorn. My mom found this great gourmet popcorn a couple weeks ago. I’ll bring a couple flavors to try.”

“It’s a plan!” said Abby.

The girls moved on to other things but mostly sat in silence, enjoying the foot and leg massages and wishing their appointments would go on forever.

 

A few hours later, Anna and Morgan showed up at Abby’s, Diet Coke and gourmet popcorn in hand.

“Hey, guys!” said Abby, as she opened the door. “Ooh, Anna, what did you bring? Is that rosemary popcorn? I want to try that!”

“Yeah, it is. And there’s some kind of cheese popcorn and I think maple something.”

The girls headed to the kitchen to pop popcorn and crack open some Cokes. Abby’s mom popped her head in and tried some popcorn.

“Hey, Mom,” said Abby. “Want to fill out World Cup brackets with us? It’s for a charity tournament. Just ten bucks to enter.”

“That sounds fun,” says Wanda Suso, “but I don’t want to get in the middle of your time with your friends. I am going to grab some of this popcorn, though!” She smiled, grabbed a couple of handfuls of popcorn and put the popcorn into a bowl and went into the living room to watch TV.

“Okay,” said Morgan, after Abby’s mom had left the kitchen. “How were y’all planning to pick your brackets? I’m thinking throwing darts would work as well as anything given what I know about the teams. I don’t even know who’s playing.”

“I printed group-play sheets and brackets for us to make notes on before we go online,” said Abby, helpfully. “But l don’t really know anything about the teams either.”

“But you’re dating Nick!” said Anna.

“Yeah, well, our soccer conversations are limited to him and the guys and the game they’re about to play or just played.”

“Let’s do an experiment then,” suggested Anna. “There are always upsets and surprises in tournaments like this. Like the NCAA basketball tournaments in March when a 14 seed upsets a 3 in the first round.”

“In the men’s tournament maybe,” said Abby, rolling her eyes. “In the women’s, you might as well just make your picks by seed until the Sweet 16.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that,” chimed in Morgan. The girls were silent for a moment, thinking about how there were only a handful of elite college women’s basketball teams even in 2018.

“Okay, anyway,” said Anna, pausing and looking pointedly at Morgan and Abby. “You know what I mean. For the World Cup, there’s bound to be surprises, and if we try to do better than Bram and Nick and Garrett based on what we know about soccer, there is no way we will do well. So why not do an experiment where we pick at random and see how we do?”

“Okay, sure,” said Abby.

“Yeah, that works for me,” said Morgan. “So how should we do this?” asked Morgan. “Are we actually going to throw darts?”

“Ha ha,” said Anna.

“Yeah, I don’t have a dartboard,” said Abby.

“I was kidding,” said Morgan, eyes rolling.

“Hey, maybe we could do sort of a modified picking out of a hat,” mused Anna. “Like, we write the names on little pieces of paper and sort them into groups and then pick out first and second picks for each group to put into the bracket.”

“Ooh, that could definitely work,” said Abby. “Let me get some paper and scissors. She came back a minute later with some index cards, pens and scissors. The girls cut four index cards into eight pieces each, labeled them with team names and sorted them into groups A through H.

“We are such dorks,” said Morgan.

“Hey!” said Anna. “I was thinking of entering this into the science fair next year if it goes well.”

“You’re not serious,” said Morgan, giggling.

“Do we even have science fair anymore?” asked Abby.

“Thank God, no,” answered Anna. “I still have nightmares about when we had to do it in elementary school. One year I made samples to test for something and after spending all afternoon on it my cat jumped on the table and made a mess of everything and I had to start over.”

“I kind of liked science fair,” said Abby.

Morgan gave her the side eye. “You’re joking,” she said.

“No, I’m not!” Abby grinned. “But in my school in DC we only had to do it in third and fourth grade, so it was pretty basic. My dad helped me and we always made something that would explode or light up. One year we tried to make our own laundry detergent and we mixed the wrong things together, and the t-shirt we were using to test it caught on fire. It was awesome.”

“Did you win?” asked Morgan.

“Not surprisingly, since we had little to show for our work, no. And my mom was pissed, even though the t-shirt was just a four-dollar kind from the craft store. She said we were going to blow up the house and what was he thinking trying this with a nine-year-old and no instructions. We really had no idea what we were doing. But we had fun.” Abby’s eyes glowed with the memory.

“Okay, so anyway, let’s do this,” said Abby. “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll go,” replied Morgan. She picked two teams from each mixed-up pile, and wrote a “1” on her group-play sheet next to the first one for each group she turned over and a “2” next to the second one for each group she turned over. Then she mixed up the piles for each group and said, “your turn,” to Anna.

Anna and Abby each got their 1’s and 2’s and then all three of them filled in their knockout-round brackets.

“We’re going to have to pick the winners for each round now,” said Morgan.

“Oh, you’re right,” said Anna. “I hadn’t thought that far. Well, no big deal. I think I’m going to just take out all the teams that didn’t make it to my brackets, then mix up the rest, and start picking winners out one by one.” So that’s what she did. Whenever she picked a team that she had already eliminated by a previous pick, she just put it aside until she had her wins for the round of 16 finished. She put aside the cards with the eight teams she had knocked out, and did the whole process over again for the round of eight and then for the semifinals and the last two games. Morgan and Abby did the same, and finally they were done.

“The guys are going to make fun of our picks,” said Anna, groaning. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” She frowned. “I am so going down early! I have Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Iran and Serbia as my final four with Tunisia winning the whole thing.”

Morgan giggled. “Man, even I know that none of those teams will make it to the semis.”

“Who’s in your final four then?” asked Anna, defensively.

“I got lucky,” said Morgan. I have Portugal, Senegal, Nigeria and Serbia, with Portugal winning it all. Go, Ronaldo!” Because of Nick’s obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo, they all knew about Portugal.

“I am going to be teased mercilessly by Nick,” sighed Abby. “I have Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Panama and Peru as my final four, with Saudi Arabia winning it all. Mexico might get to the semis; I think I’ve heard Nick talk about that team before. But no way is Saudi Arabia going to win. Didn’t Germany win it last time? Oh, man. Thanks, Anna!” She grimaced.

“So, are we going to enter them into the contest?” asked Morgan, hopefully, feeling pretty confident since she at least had Portugal to win.

“Oh, I guess,” said Anna, since their experiment was her idea. “It will be fun to see how we do overall compared to the guys. We might pick up some points in the early rounds.”

They all agreed and logged into the contest website from their phones to enter their brackets.

“What are y’all calling your teams?” asked Abby.

“I was going to use ‘Ronaldo Rules,’” said Morgan, but Nick already picked that. So, maybe, ‘M is for Portugal’?”

“That doesn’t make any sense at all!” said Abby.

“You have a better idea?” challenged Morgan.

“No,” sighed Abby.

“I’m going with ‘Anna Banana,’” said Anna. “My dad always called me that when I was little, so I use it for things like this all the time.”

“I have no idea what to call my team,” complained Abby. “It is so going to be in last place. And it’s not like Saudi Arabia is someplace I would ever want to go, so I don’t want ‘Saudi Arabia Forever’ or anything like that. Can you imagine going there on vacation? I’ve heard the Red Sea is beautiful, but who wants to wear a burkini?” She shuddered. She finally settled on “Abby’s Random Picks,” so hopefully no one thought she actually thought Saudi Arabia was going to win.

“Hey, Simon’s already got an entry on here,” said Abby. “But Leah said she was going to work with Simon on it tomorrow. That’s odd.” She frowned, trying to figure out why Leah had said she was meeting Simon if he had already done his bracket.

“Maybe he’s helping her but he doesn’t need her to help him,” suggested Anna. “But who knows? I gave up trying to figure out Simon a long time ago.” Even though Anna had dated Simon a couple years before, and they had stayed friends after they broke up, she didn’t feel like she knew him any better than the other girls did. The only person who really seemed to know him was Leah, who had been his best friend pretty much forever. It was funny. Anna wasn’t uncomfortable around Simon after they broke up. Their relationship was casually entered into, never really went anywhere, and casually ended, so it was almost like it had never happened. They had kissed maybe three times and she could hardly remember it. She didn’t think he was very good at it. But back then, they were only fourteen, and she had no idea what to expect. I wonder if he’s gay? she thought. That would explain a lot, actually. His lack of dating much, even though he was cute and outgoing, for one thing. But Abby was talking and Anna lost her train of thought.

“Hey, you want to make more popcorn?” Abby asked Anna.

“Oh, um, no. I’m not all that hungry actually. Too much Coke, I think, kind of filled me up.”

“I want more,” said Morgan. The three girls stood around munching on the last of the popcorn and finishing their Cokes until it was time for Anna and Morgan to go home.

“Okay, time to go,” said Morgan, at eleven. “I’m beat and I have to go to church in the morning.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Anna. “Good thing, since you’re my ride. And I’m on acolyte duty so I’ve got to be there 15 minutes early. Ugh. But maybe I’ll see Bram in the morning. He is so cute! I wonder what he’s really like though? He never says anything!” She went to the same Episcopal church as Bram’s mom, and Bram showed up on occasion.

The other girls agreed. Bram was really cute, but they didn’t feel like they knew him well at all. He seemed to talk to Garrett a lot but otherwise was pretty quiet. But cuuute. Hmm.

Anna and Morgan left and Abby stayed up munching popcorn for a while, thinking about Nick, Bram, Leah, and how she didn’t want to go to work the next day. She had gotten a waitressing job at a nice restaurant for the summer, although she was only able to get on the schedule about 25 hours a week. Truthfully? She was okay with that. She could turn on her bright smile and chat with the customers and get decent tips, but even though she wore hideous black sneakers with her uniform of black pants, white button-down shirt and black scarf/tie thing, her feet hurt at the end of every shift and she was bored out of her mind. But since she wasn’t working every day and was new so got the lunch shift more often than not, she had a lot of free time, so that was great. She found she had been hanging out with her girlfriends more than she had had time for during the school year, and she felt like she was starting to fit into her new home. Dating Nick was great, and she loved her theater friends, but Abby was glad that this summer she had time to really get to know her new group of girlfriends better.

Her phone chirped. Incoming text from Nick, 11:17 PM: What’s up?

Abby to Nick, 11:18 PM: Just entered my World Cup bracket in the contest. Got my toes painted a pretty pink today. You missed out on the pedicure.

Nick to Abby, 11:19 PM: No thank you. Watcha doing now?

Abby to Nick, 11:20 PM: Going to bed.

Nick to Abby, 11:21 PM: Sure you don’t want to come out for a little bit?

Abby to Nick, 11:22 PM: Yeah, I’m sure. Besides, I don’t think my mom would really be grooving on me leaving to go out this late. It’s almost midnight.

Nick to Abby, 11:23 PM: Oh! I was playing guitar and totally lost track of time. I thought it was like 9:00. Okay. Well, good night. Xoxo

Abby to Nick, 11:24 PM: Night, Sweetie Pie. Xxxoooxxxooo

Nick to Abby, 11:25 PM: I am not a pie!


	3. Blue Is Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bram comes out to his mom.

FROM: [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO: [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE: Jun 9 at 9:03 PM

SUBJECT: Re: World Cup

Jacques,

Relative team hotness? That does sound freaking awesome, Jacques. And yes, I did hear about the contest, and I too am entering. But, as something of a soccer connoisseur, I am thinking of basing my choices more on teams I think will win in each round. But hey, that’s just me. I would love to see your bracket though. And by the way, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo, not Ronaldo Something. You are soooooo cute!  :)

Sorry it took me so long to respond to your email. I somehow lost a whole day and I’m not sure what I was doing other than sleeping. I have been working at a day camp this summer as a counselor, and by the end of the week, I am exhausted. Between the sun and the little kids, I am beat down every day. I may have to break down and start wearing a hat when I’m in the sun. Anyway, I didn’t crawl out of bed today until almost noon, and then I did some research on my World Cup brackets and then tonight I realized I hadn’t checked my email in a while and I saw your email so here I am. I know I should be out somewhere since it’s a summer Saturday night, but I’m too wiped out. Lame, I know. I hope not so lame you stop emailing me though…

Zzzzzzzzz.

OMG. I fell asleep and just woke up again. I guess I’m off to sleep. But in answer to your question, yes, I have thought about coming out more and more lately. Too exhausted to be sure where I stand right now, but I am getting tired of the hiding. But right now I’m falling asleep.

Later.

Love,

Blue

 

After catching up on his sleep Friday night and Saturday night, Bram felt much better Sunday morning and decided to join his mom at church. As the initial hymn was sung and the choir, acolytes, priest and other participates filed in, he saw Anna trooping into the sanctuary in her acolyte robe, carrying a processional cross, and he gave her a shy little wave. She didn’t have a free hand, but she smiled back.

Bram wasn’t a regular churchgoer, but his mom was, and he went every once in a while because he knew it made her happy. He had noticed in the last few years that he actually enjoyed the rhythm of the service, the hymns, the call and response, the asking of forgiveness and really the whole thing. He found that he could listen, or not, and meditate, or not, and after the service, his mind felt at ease. So he went on occasion.

On this Sunday, however, his mind just wandered during the whole service. He thought about his World Cup bracket, thought about Jacques, wondered who Jacques was, tried to picture him, and then realized he hadn’t eaten breakfast and started thinking about Oreos and Reese’s peanut butter cups. By the time the service ended, he was starving.

Hanging out in the parish hall after the service while his mom talked to friends, he ran into Anna by the donuts.

“Hey, Bram!” she said. He noticed that her eyes had very little black eyeliner. Maybe she toned it down for church.

“Hey, Anna,” he smiled shyly, not knowing what to say next.

That turned out not to be a problem. Anna was not at all shy and could talk to just about anyone. “You fill out your bracket yet?” she asked.

“My World Cup bracket? Uh, no. Still thinking about it. Are you following the World Cup?”

“Sort of,” she replied. “Abby told me about the Boys and Girls Club thing, and she and Morgan and I filled out brackets last night.”

“Oh, really? Who do you think is going to win this year?”

“I have no idea,” said Anna. “Maybe Spain or Brazil? I really don’t follow men’s soccer. I don’t even know if Creekwood’s team is any good, much less World Cup teams. We all realized yesterday that we were not going to be able to compete with you and Nick and Garrett since you guys keep up with this stuff, so we each picked our teams using a sort of modified dartboard method.” She explained what she, Abby and Morgan had done.

“Oh, uh, that’s cool,” said Bram. “You think you have a shot? I guess there are always surprises, but I think there are a bunch of teams that are not very likely to win the Cup.”

“I feel confident I will do quite poorly, actually,” laughed Anna. “I have Tunisia and Iran in the final. I don’t know that much about men’s international soccer, but I don’t think I’ve heard of too many Tunisians or Iranians playing for Manchester United or Real Madrid.” Anna’s mom approached then, and Anna said, “See you later, Bram.”

“See you, Anna,” said Bram, and turned away from the donut table and looked around for his mom.

“C’mon, Mom,” he said, when she finally turned away from the friend she had been speaking with. “I’m starving!”

Bram and his mom went out for Thai food on their way home. Bram liked it because he liked just about any kind of food, and his mom liked it because she could always get good vegetables and not just starch, fat and salt. So, good all around.

“So Bram,” started his mom, after they had ordered. “What’s up with you these days?”

Woah, that was out of the blue. Oh, ha ha, he thought to himself. Blue. “Bram?” said his mom. “You there?

“Oh, yeah. What do you mean?” He honestly had no idea what she was getting at. He didn’t think he had been acting any differently than usual.

“I mean, you have been in dreamland a lot lately, and I catch you smiling a little secret smile while you’re looking at your phone sometimes. Are you seeing someone?”

Oh, no. Bram didn’t want to lie to his mom, but he hadn’t prepared his coming-out speech for her and he really, really hadn’t considered telling her about Jacques. But he had to say something. He hesitated. “Well, uh.” He stopped, trying to figure out what to say. “Well,” he started again. His mom looked at him, waiting patiently.

Bram loved his mom. Okay, he knew everyone who didn’t have nightmare parents pretty much loved their parents, but he truly admired his mom and also liked being around her. She was smart and put together and trusted him to take care of himself when she had to work or go help her sister out and, he thought, she deserved to know what was going on.

“Well,” he started again. “I sort of have a penpal.”

She looked at him with wide eyes. This was not what she was expecting. “A penpal? Where did you get a penpal? I hope you didn’t meet some random girl in a chat room. You know, Blueberry (she only called him that when no one else was around, fortunately), you can’t always trust those people.”

“Mom,” protested Bram. “It’s not someone from some random chat room.” He wasn’t sure how to explain Jacques and the Tumblr post and the big thing, that Jacques was a guy.

“OK, I’m listening,” she said.

Bram paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. And then he went for it. “Mom, I posted something on the creeksecrets Tumblr page last August about feeling like I was on my own emotionally and how you don’t always know someone you think you know and people are like big houses with lots of rooms and windows, and someone responded to it and we have been emailing since then. It’s someone from my school. We actually had the same English teacher last year, although I don’t know if we were in the same class period, and I don’t know who my penpal is because we have been using fake names. And that’s because we’re both gay and neither one of us is ready to come out. My penpal’s a guy, Mom.”

His mom sat back in her chair, completely unprepared for what her son had told her. And he had spoken so fast that she wasn’t sure she caught everything he said. Big houses, English class, gay. She took a few moments to sort it out and then she looked at her son. Bram had an odd look on his face. She realized he was both scared and relieved. She reached a hand out across the table and took one of his hands in hers.

“Oh, Blueberry,” she started, then paused, choosing her words carefully. “I’m so glad you told me,” she continued. “I’m not sure I understand the secrecy part, but you’re sure that this boy is your age and not some predator?”

“Yeah, Mom. We’ve talked enough about stuff at school that there’s no way he doesn’t go to Creekwood. And we both definitely had Mr. Wise for English last year, so yeah, I’m sure he’s not some predator.”

She looked relieved. “That’s terrific,” she said, “then I can just be happy for you.”

“Happy for me?”

“Well, sure! I want you to be happy, Bram. But first I want you to be safe and healthy.” She paused. “As long as you’re sure he’s a boy from your school and not some predator, and it sounds like you have been thoughtful about figuring out he’s someone from school, I can focus on the happy part.” Bram looked back at his mom, seeing the openness in her face and knowing that his safety and happiness really were her concerns, not his sexual orientation. She smiled carefully. “Were you worried I would be upset that you’re gay? Or bisexual?”

“I wasn’t too worried, but you know, I just didn’t know how or when to tell you. It’s not the easiest subject to discuss with your mom. And I’m definitely gay, Mom, not bisexual. I’m just not into girls.” He paused. “You’re not mad? Or sad?”

“Blueberry, love is love. As long as a relationship is consensual and makes you happy, I don’t care whom you love. It’s just like what you want to be when you grow up. As long as you’re doing something constructive and ethical, I don’t care if you’re a writer or a soccer player or a construction foreman or the mayor of Atlanta or an orthodontist. I just want you to be happy.”

Bram finally smiled a big smile. He hadn’t planned on saying anything to his mom just yet about Jacques, but he was glad he had. He had known his whole life that his mom was awesome, but who knew she was this awesome?

Their food arrived, and Bram focused on eating while his mom asked him questions about Jacques. Bram didn’t tell her their names for each other, but he told him about how Jacques loved Oreos and was funny and was someone he could talk to in a way he had never been able to talk to anyone else.

“Do you want to find out who he is?” his mom finally asked.

“I don’t know,” Bram answered truthfully. “In some ways, yeah, I really do. But what if he realizes he doesn’t like me if he figures out who I am?”

“Why would he not like you? You said you’ve been emailing for almost a year. You have to have gotten to know each other pretty well if you’ve emailed a couple hundred times. And you are adorable! Of course he would like you!”

“I think you’re biased, Mom.”

“Well, of course I am, but I also know, objectively, that he obviously likes your personality or you two would not still be emailing each other, and also objectively, you are adorable.”

Bram tried not to grin but he just couldn’t help himself and he started to laugh. “Good talk, Mom, good talk.”

 

FROM: [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO: [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE: Jun 10 at 2:10 PM

SUBJECT: told my mom

Jacques,

I told my mom about you and obviously, since I told her about you, I told her about being gay. I had not planned on coming out to her yet, but we were eating lunch and my mom said I had been acting like I was in dreamland and she wanted to know what was going on. I can’t lie to my mom. So I just went for it, and she was super cool about it. She was so happy that I had found you and that I had told her. She just wants me to be happy. Thinking about it now, it makes sense because she has always been a great mom. I don’t know why I was scared to tell her. Maybe it’s because of all the horror stories we hear about what the gay people who are a generation older than we are went through? And I know there are a lot of people who are still not accepting of us at all, but I have also always known that my mom isn’t one of those people. So I don’t know why I waited so long. I’m rambling. I think telling her was such a relief that I am awash in adrenaline now. I need to tell my dad now too, but I want to wait until next time I see him. I would rather not do it over the phone. Does that make sense? I’m not sure it does, but that’s what I want to do. I suppose I should just tell him and my stepmom at the same time. I doubt she’s going to care. I don’t know her all that well, but she has always been nice to me. Maybe I’ll take a quick trip down to Savannah to see them. But my mom says I need to wait a few weeks. My little brother was only born last week. I soooo want to see him, but Mom says my stepmom might prefer not to have visitors the first couple weeks. I guess I can wait. They need to focus on Caleb right now. I need to respect that. I mean, I’ve waited this long; a couple more weeks will be OK.

I keep thinking about your bracket based on player hotness. When are you going to show me your bracket? I promise not to copy it.  :) 

Love,

Blue


	4. Simon's Out Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon comes out to Leah and his family.

Meanwhile, back at the Spier household, Simon slept until the buzz of his phone woke him up. Sunday, 9:23 AM, text from Leah to Simon: We’re doing WC brackets today after work, right? What time do you get off work?

Simon to Leah, 9:25 AM: I’m working 11-5. You?

Leah to Simon, 9:26 AM: Same! It’s been forever since just the two of us hung out. Excellent. 

Simon didn’t say anything about already having done his bracket because he wanted to spend time with Leah and he had decided to come out to her. She was going to want to know how he picked the teams and that seemed as good a way as anything else to bring up the subject of him being gay. He didn’t feel like he wanted to deal with the whole world yet, but this was Leah. His best friend. For a long time he thought he would wait until college so everything could be the same through high school, but keeping the secret was wearing him out. He found himself gazing at Cute Bram then hoping nobody noticed and there were times he almost talked to the one of the approximately two out lesbian girls at school about politics during their history class but then got scared that would make people think he was gay and he was gay so why did this have to be such a big deal? And he was done dating girls. He suspected Anna might figure out his secret anyway if she thought back to their relationship in ninth grade. So, he was pretty sure today he would tell Leah. He thought about it all during his shift at WaHo and had to focus hard in short spurts to not mess up anyone’s order. He even volunteered to do more than his share of cleanup duties because he didn’t have to talk to anyone while he did that. 

Leah thought Simon was a little off at work but wasn’t sure. Sundays were always crowded so she couldn’t think about non-work stuff for long at a time because of all the customers. 

Finally, they were off and they both collapsed into a booth. Somehow, they weren’t sick of the food yet although they were both so worn out they just got drinks. 

Simon’s phone beeped right after they sat down. “Oh, hey. It’s my mom. She’s asking if we want to have dinner at my house now.”

Leah took her time answering, not wanting to appear too eager. “Hmm. Yeah, that sounds cool,” she said. She actually loved spending time with the Spiers. They treated her like she was part of the family, but sometimes she worried that they would wake up one day and realize she wasn’t and everything would change. But it never did because they actually did think of her as part of their extended family. “Let me just text my mom.”

That done, they headed to the Spiers’ house. 

“Leo and Simona,” Jack greeted them. “Glad you could join us!”  Leah grinned at Simon’s dad and bent down to snuggle Bieber, the Spiers’ dog, who had bounded up to her as soon as she and Simon came in the house. Jack was a little like a second father to her. Or first father, she thought, sadly. Her own father had run off with someone barely legal and wasn’t that good at keeping in touch. She tried not to think about it. Jack was one of the few people in the world she allowed to give her a hug, other than her mom, Simon and, of course, Bieber, and not only did she allow it, she didn’t feel uncomfortable when it was Jack. He was just funny and kind and dripped happy emotion. So yeah, having dinner at Simon’s rocked. 

“We’re just having burgers and watermelon and chips, tonight,” said Emily, “nothing fancy.”

“Actually, they’re freaking awesome burgers that Nora makes,” said Simon, grinning at his little sister. 

Alice was home too, and she nodded her agreement. “Nora puts shredded cheese in them and some other secret ingredients she won’t reveal to us,” added Alice. “But Si’s right. They’re freaking awesome.” She smiled at her own imitation of her little brother. Nora beamed. She had come up with her hamburger recipe herself and it was, so far, her most popular creation. 

Leah smiled back at Alice and Nora. This evening was turning into a pretty great end to the day. 

After dinner, Leah and Simon offered to do the dishes. First things first, Simon let Bieber have a little bite of leftover hamburger. Bieber sat, trying to be patient but wiggling from head to tail, as he tried to get a second bite, but Simon told him, “Sorry, Biebs, that’s all we’ve got. Nora outdid herself tonight. I should have saved you a little more.” He leaned down and scratched Bieber’s ears and Bieber promptly rolled over for a belly rub. Leah smiled. God, even the Spier family dog was awesome.

Dishes done, Simon and Leah went up to Simon’s room. He left the door open even though it was stupid since no way was he going to be making out with Leah but whatever. 

“Let’s do this,” said Leah, getting her folded-up group-play and knockout-round bracket sheets out of her purse. “How should we pick our teams?”

“Well,” started Simon, “I already chose mine,” he admitted, blushing. And then he started to panic again. Leah didn’t notice at first. She was looking down at the group-play matchups and didn’t notice his pink face.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had already filled out your bracket?” she asked, looking up.

“Am I not allowed to want to hang out with my best friend?” he countered.

Leah beamed. She hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear that. “Anyway…” she started, then, after a pause, continued. “So, how did you pick your teams? Did Nick help you?” Then she realized she was being a little condescending. Maybe Simon knew more about soccer than she thought. But she doubted it. But maybe. Simon looked at her oddly. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Maybe she had offended him after all. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry. I just figured you’re probably not that into soccer and are just doing this to help the Boys and Girls Clubs and because Nick is doing it. I didn’t intend to be mean,” she said, gently. 

“I’m gay,” said Simon, suddenly, just blurting it out. 

“Oh!” replied Leah, caught off guard. “Oh,” she said again, more quietly this time. They were sitting side by side in the floor, their backs to Simon’s bed. Leah paused, taking in what he had just said. She had been so focused on her own reveal to Simon that she was completely unprepared for his. She reached over and took his hand and looked into his eyes, which just looked scared. “I thought something was on your mind at work today,” she said. “Oh, Si. I love you no matter what, okay?” She hugged him tightly.

Simon hugged her for a long time. After about a minute of hugging her and sort of rocking a little, he pulled back and the look on his face was one of relief. “Oh, my God, Leah. I wish I had told you a long time ago.” He stopped and smiled at her. “I was so scared to say anything and I was going to wait until college so things wouldn’t change but I got tired of covering and making excuses for not dating girls and I just couldn’t deal with dating girls anymore (even though you all are awesome but really, I’m just not into y’all) and it was all so tiring and I wanted to tell someone and now I feel like a weight has lifted.” It all came out in a rush but then he had to pause to take a breath. “You’re sure you’re okay with this?” and he hugged her again, not really sure why he asked that. What was she going to say? No, it’s not OK?

“Yeah, Si, of course I’m fine with it. You’re you, and that hasn’t changed and, wow, I’m flattered that you told me.” She gave him another quick hug and then pulled back. “Do your parents know?”

“No, not yet, although I think I’m going to tell them soon. I feel like they’ll be cool about it. I’m just so tired of thinking of it as a big deal though, and you know how they make a big deal about everything. God, my dad may want to march in a pride parade.” He groaned. But he smiled a little bit.

Leah smiled too and decided to make her own announcement. “Um, Si, I don’t want to take away from your big reveal here,” she started. 

“Big reveal?” he grinned finally. “Leah, that’s totally how I’m going to tell my parents. I can pretend it’s reality TV and maybe that will make it easier.”

“I can’t believe you told me before them,” Leah said, actually pretty happy to be ahead of them on Simon’s list.

“Yeah, you’re kind of my test run.” He paused. He might as well tell her everything. She was his best friend and was easier to talk to than Nick about anything deep. “And, um, one other person knows.”

“Who?” Leah asked, trying not to sound jealous, while also being curious.

“You remember the creeksecrets Tumblr post last August by the guy who said he was gay?”

Leah ate up creeksecrets so yeah, she remembered. “That was you?” she asked. 

“What? No, it wasn’t me. But I was the one who replied ‘THIS’ with an email address. The guy emailed me, and we have been emailing ever since. I don’t know his real name and he doesn’t know mine, but we have gotten really close.” He got a dreamy look in his eyes. Leah shoved him with her shoulder and grinned. He grinned back. 

“But wait. You just started to tell me something,” he said. “What did you want to tell me?” 

Leah hesitated. She hadn’t thought this out at all but she was tired of keeping her own secret with no one but her mom to talk to about it. So she looked him in the eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m bi.” 

Simon let that sink in and then he smiled. “Really?” He hugged her yet again. “Wow. I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn’t pick up on that. But then again, I’m so freaking clueless half the time, I guess that’s no surprise. That I missed it, I mean,” he added. He grinned at her.

It was Leah’s turn to feel relief wash over her. Simon kept talking.   “I’m so glad you told me. Why did we wait so long? Why does there have to be a big reveal for people like us?” Leah could tell he had thought about coming out for a long time by the way he went on and on for a while on the subject. 

“Have you told anyone else?” he asked. 

“Just my mom, a while ago. She’s been really cool about it actually.”

“Well, considering your mom generally, that’s not that surprising,” responded Simon. 

“Um, I’m not ready to tell the world, Si, okay?”

“I totally get it, believe me. Remember when those assholes made fun of those two girls in the cafeteria that day last semester? What’re their names? The out lesbian girls? Oh yeah, Alix and Sasha? I felt so bad for them, although Sasha was pretty freaking awesome the way she told them off before Ms. Knight came in and chewed them out and hauled them down to the office. But still, I just felt frozen watching those two jerks making jokes about Alix and Sasha and feeling like if I did anything I was going to out myself and I wasn’t ready for that but I still feel guilty I didn’t do anything to stop them.”

Leah nodded, remembering that day. It was from hell, and she had also felt guilty. Come to think of it, who did tell the principal? Oh, well. There was nothing she could do now. She shuddered as she remembered.

“I’m still not ready to tell the whole world yet either I don’t think, I don’t know, but it felt good to tell you. And Blue,” he added.

“Who’s Blue?” Leah asked, confused.

“Oh, that’s the guy I’ve been emailing. He’s Blue and I’m Jacques. For now, anyway.”

Leah was suddenly consumed with curiosity about this Blue person. “So tell me about this guy you’ve been emailing.”

So Simon told her about the Blue and Jacques emails and how he was ready to meet Blue and he thought he knew who he was but he wasn’t sure if Blue was ready and he didn’t want to out him if he wasn’t ready because that wouldn’t be fair. Leah listened and didn’t push Simon about who Blue was. Something tickled the back of her mind and she felt like she might be able to figure it out but she understood about keeping secrets and had no need to out anyone. 

“How about you? Have you ever done anything with a girl?” Simon asked. 

“Wow, that’s a pretty bold question,” protested Leah. 

Simon smirked a little. “I just thought since we were letting it all hang out, you know, I thought I could ask, but you don’t have to tell me.”

Leah was feeling so free that she just laughed. “No,” she said. “Not yet. Maybe someday though. And it’s bi, Simon, so not just girls for me.”

“I think Garrett likes you,” said Simon, grinning. 

“I like Garrett too,” said Leah. “But kind of like I like Bieber, you know?” said Leah. “Garrett’s like a big puppy, bounding all over with his tongue hanging out. I really do like him, but he’s just not my type. Not because he’s a boy, but because I’m just not into him that way.” She added, “kind of wish I was though. He does seem pretty enthusiastic.” 

“Yeah, about pretty much everything,” Simon laughed. “Hey, we need to go through the World Cup bracket,” Simon said.

“You said you already did yours,” said Leah. “How did you pick your teams?”

Simon blushed.

“What?” asked Leah. She looked confused.

“Well,” Simon started. “Umm, this is probably going to be what outs me to all of our friends,” he started.

Leah was curious now. “What on earth did you do, Si?” she asked, grinning at Simon.

“Well,” Simon started again. “I ranked them based on player hotness,” he finally admitted. He showed her his bracket, with Brazil winning, Mexico second, and Denmark third over Morocco.

Leah grinned and laughed. “That’s awesome, Si. But yeah, if Nick and the other guys see your bracket and you don’t tell them you threw darts or something to pick the teams, they are going to want to know what’s up. I mean, Brazil, okay, but Mexico second? They’re ranked like 13th, and Denmark and Morocco are not even expected to get out of group play.”

“Listen to you, Leah!” said Simon. “You act like you know what you’re talking about!”

It was Leah’s turn to be embarrassed. “I really want that signed soccer ball,” was all she would admit. “So anyway,” she continued, “I checked the teams’ rankings going into the tournament and I’m going to use those to pick my teams. I figure the best teams usually win, and it’s better than just guessing. I suppose I could use rankings of the teams and combine that with their team hotness rating and come up with some sort of formula…”

Simon giggled. God, he should have come out to Leah forever ago.

Leah looked at the rankings she had pulled from the FIFA website and written on her group-play paper. When she filled in her bracket, she ended up with a final eight of Portugal, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Belgium and Poland, with Germany and Brazil in the final, Portugal and France playing for third, and Germany winning the whole thing, followed by Brazil then Portugal then France. Since she just used the ranking numbers, she was able to finish her bracket quickly.

“Man,” said Simon. “I spent like four times as long doing my bracket as you.”

“You had to look at all those team pictures,” laughed Leah.

“Yeah, it was fun.” Simon grinned, thinking about it.

Leah entered her bracket in the contest under Leah for the Win. “Okay, done with that,” she said, pleased to have gotten that taken care of.

Simon couldn’t stop smiling. He leaned his head on Leah’s shoulder. “Why didn’t we talk about this sooner?” he asked.

“I don’t know about you,” said Leah, “but I didn’t really know how to do it. I have wanted to have someone to talk to for so long, someone who just gets what it feels like to not know where I belong, but I was just scared.”

“Me too,” replied Simon. “It’s not an easy thing to just drop into conversation, and what if people turn out to be jerks like those guys from school? I guess I was scared for me, but I was also scared to find out my friends and family would reject me.”

“Your family is awesome, Si,” Leah reassured him.

“You’re right,” he agreed. He had an idea. “Maybe while I’m brave and they’re all here I could tell them right now? You could help me!”

“Oh, hey, Si. If you want to do that now, that’s great, but I think you need to do that on your own. Maybe I should go.”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. But what do you think? Should I tell them?”

“I absolutely think you should, but if you’re going to do it tonight, you should do it soon. It’s 9:30 already.”

Simon was so buoyed up by how it went with Leah and her news that he felt like he was going to burst. He started wiggling back and forth as he thought about. “I’m going to do it,” he said.

“Then I’m going to go,” said Leah. “Text me later and let me know how it went.”

Simon walked her out, and when he closed the front door behind her, called out to his parents and sisters that he needed to talk to them. He walked into the living room, where all of them had been binge-watching _The Great British Baking Show_. They were taking a break from _The Bachelor_ and _The Bachelorette_ and had gotten hooked on _The Great British Baking Show_ at the beginning of the summer.

“What?!” said Simon. “You watched it without me? How did James do? He didn’t get cut, did he?” James was Simon’s favorite. Young and straight, but great smile, and wasn’t a problem with the don’t-fall-for-a-straight-guy rule because he was on television, in Great Britain, so Simon was never going to meet him anyway. Simon sighed deeply, pretending to be irritated.

“That’s what you want to say to us?” asked Emily, curious.

“Oh, um, no.” said Simon, feeling nervous again. It had turned out to be so easy talking to Leah, and so he thought it would be easy talking to his family, but now…. No, he was not going to chicken out, he was going to do this. No more hiding from his family. He walked over to the couch and squeezed in between Alice and Nora. “So,” he began, as his mom paused the show. He paused and looked down. The others waited expectantly.

“You and Leah finally making a go of it?” asked Jack.

“What?” Simon looked up. “Me and Leah? That’s actually never going to happen.” Jack and Emily looked confused. They had been pretty sure that Simon and Leah were an inevitability.

“Um,” Simon started again. “I’m gay.” There. He had said it.

“Oh!” said Jack and Emily at the same time.

Nora and Alice smiled, high-fived each other behind Simon’s back, and Nora said to Alice, “you owe me twenty bucks.”

Wait, what? Simon thought, looking at them completely confused now. “You already know?” he asked them.

“We were pretty sure,” responded Alice.

“Yeah,” said Nora.

“How did you know?”

“Well,” said Nora. “You didn’t seem too upset when Anna broke up with you.”

“And you haven’t dated any other girls since Anna,” added Alice.

“You don’t even seem to notice them,” said Nora.

“And you’ve been talking about some Bram guy this summer,” said Alice. “Who’s he?”

“He’s a soccer player,” replied Nora. “And he’s cuuuute.”

“Well, that explains what you said the other day,” said Alice.

“What?” asked Simon.

“You called him Cute Bram.”

“I did not!”

“Yeah, you did,” giggled Alice. “You were going to the movies to see The Incredibles 2 and I asked who you were going with and you said Nick, Garrett and Cute Bram.”

“No, I didn’t!” protested Simon.

“Yes, you did,” said Nora. “I heard it, too.” By this time, Nora was also giggling, and Emily, who, as the adult therapist parent in the room, had tried to hold it together, snorted.

Jack looked at her and, realizing laughing was okay, started to laugh himself.

Simon, bright red, rubbed his hands down his face and said, “why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” said Alice. “We figured you’d say something eventually, but it’s not up to us to tell your story. You’re not doing anything wrong. It’s not like we’re going to stop you from being you. We just want you to be happy. I have some friends who are gay or lesbian or bisexual or whatever and I know from them how difficult it can be to deal with it publicly. Si, I love you, and I might tease you, but it’s not because you’re gay. It’s because you’re my little brother and you’re just kind of funny.” Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Simon and hugged him. Then Nora, who was sitting on the other side of him, hugged him too.

Simon finally smiled. “Thanks,” he said.

“We had no idea,” said Emily.

“We were sure you and Leah were going to get together,” said Jack. “I was all ready to welcome her to the family. What am I going to do now? Is she still coming on vacation with us?”

“Dad!” said Nora.

“What? Oh,” said Jack. “That didn’t come out right, did it? I’m not sure what to say. You’re gay? How did I not see this?”

Emily, ever the more in-tune parent, tilted her head just a little to the right and said, “Simon, I’m so glad you told us. We love you, and this doesn’t change that at all. I’m glad you can now be your full you.” That was totally an Emily thing to say. She got up from her chair, came over to Simon, took his hands and pulled him upright and gave him a big hug.

Jack, seeing that, realized he needed to join in and got up from his chair and took his turn hugging Simon. “What she said,” he said into Simon’s hair. He stepped back, and he said, “I haven’t processed this yet, so if I say something stupid, just call me out on it, okay? I love, you, but you know I don’t have the ability your mom has of saying the right thing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

He had tears in his eyes now. My dad cries as much as John Boehner, thought Simon. But he hugged his dad back and felt happy that he had told his family. He couldn’t believe Nora and Alice had figured it out, but at least they were cool about it.

“Wait,” he said. “What’s this twenty bucks thing?” Simon asked.

“We bet on when you would come out,” answered Nora. “I said this summer, but Alice thought you would wait until after high school.”

Simon tried to be mad, but he was just so happy he had finally told them, he couldn’t be.

“Leah knows, but I haven’t told the world,” he started. “And, uh, I’m not sure when I want to do that.”

Emily, in her therapist voice, said “Of course, Si. Like Alice said, it’s your story to tell, not ours. We respect whatever you want to do, right Jack?”

Jack, still looking out of sorts, clearly still processing everything, said, “What? Oh, definitely. What your mom said.”

“Yeah, we won’t say anything if you don’t want us to,” said Nora. “But it sucks that it should matter.”

Wow, Nora, thought Simon. Nora was not usually the outspoken one. But come to think of it, she was coming more into her own lately, Simon realized. He really needed to get out of his own head more, he thought. “Thanks,” he said. “Yeah, it does suck.” He smiled a little bit.

“Hey, this has actually worn me out. I’m going to go upstairs. But thanks for not making me feel like a rejected freak. I appreciate that more than I can say.”

“Oh, honey!” said his mom, hugging him again and kissing his hair.

Simon finally wiggled free and jogged up the stairs and went to his room.

 

Sunday night, 10:42 PM, text from Simon to Leah: I told them.

Leah to Simon, 10:43 PM: How’d it go?

Simon to Leah, 10:43 PM: Actually, well. And Nora and Alice already freaking knew!!!!

Leah to Simon, 10:44 PM: Wow. I hadn’t even picked up on it. But I guess I was pretty wrapped up in my own thing.

Simon to Leah, 10:44 PM: They had a bet on when I’d come out!

Leah to Simon, 10:44 PM: That’s pretty funny, actually.

Simon to Leah, 10:45 PM: You’re supposed to be on my side!

Leah to Simon, 10:46 PM: I am on your side, silly. That doesn’t mean it isn’t funny that you had no idea how you were projecting around them. Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you can’t be funny and really doesn’t mean I’m going to stop teasing you when appropriate. :)

Simon to Leah, 10:47 PM: And my dad thought you and I were going to get married.

Leah to Simon, 10:49 PM: Wow. Wasn’t expecting that. Tell Jack that I’m flattered, and if he needs another daughter, I’m open even if I don’t get to marry you. <3 <3

Simon to Leah, 10:49 PM: Good night, Leah.

Leah to Simon, 10:50 PM: Good night, Si. Glad we talked.

 

FROM: [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO: [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE: Jun 10 at 11:02 PM

SUBJECT: Re: told my mom

Blue,

That’s freaking awesome about you coming out to your mom. I swear I hadn’t read your email until just a few minutes ago and I wasn’t copying, but I came out to my best friend and to my family tonight too! They were all really awesome, although it turns out my sisters had already figured it out and my dad thought I was going to marry my best friend, who’s a girl, so no way, but other than being shocked, my dad was cool. It felt so good to say something. I know I’m lucky to have such a great family. I can’t even imagine how hard it is to keep this secret your whole life, but I know people do. I want to tell you all about it, but I’m freaking exhausted now. So good night. And congratulations on telling your mom, really. And yes, I think it’s a great idea to tell your dad and your stepmom together, in person. I don’t remember how my mom was when my little sister was born. I was only two. But after you told me about your stepmom being pregnant and the ultrasound and I looked at all that on the internet, I ended up learning a little more about pregnancy and babies than I ever wanted to and it seems like having a baby would be pretty freaking hard and I’m sure your mom’s right about your dad and stepmom needing a few weeks without visitors. That’s not to say that seeing your little brother should have to wait, but, well, I guess I am saying that. It kind of sucks, but it’s just a couple more weeks, right? That’s so awesome that you have a little brother, by the way. You’ll have to let me know what it’s like. I only know about sisters. I am definitely rambling. OMG I just need to go to sleep. But for real I am thrilled that we both had a good experience today. Why did we wait so long?

Love,

Jacques

 


	5. Bram and Garrett Pick Brackets and Nora Listens In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora has a guitar lesson at Nick's, and Garrett and Bram are there too, filling in their World Cup brackets. Bram figures out who Blue is.

Late Monday afternoon, Nick, Bram and Garrett sat in Nick’s basement playing videogames and pounding water.  They had all thought that being counselors at soccer camp with a bunch of ten-year-olds was going to be easy.  They were wrong.  They had just begun only the second week of being counselors, and now not one of them thought they would make it another seven weeks, although none of them had voiced their doubts out loud.

“Hey,” said Bram.  “Have you guys filled out your World Cup brackets yet?”

“Yeah, I did mine a few days ago, pretty much right after you told us about it,” said Nick.

“I haven’t,” said Garrett, “although I’ve thought about it a little bit.  I think I have my notes in my bag.”  He dug around in his bag, and sure enough, he found his group-play notes and an empty bracket, a little wrinkled and with a few smears of sunscreen on them.

“Let me see,” said Bram, not really asking, as he reached for Garrett’s notes.

Just then, Nora came down the stairs, guitar case in hand.

“Hey, soccer guys!” she greeted them.  “What’s up?”  She pulled Garrett’s notes from Bram.  “Oh, World Cup.  I need to fill in my bracket.”

“You’re going to enter?” asked Nick. 

“Of course I am,” responded Nora.  “Why wouldn’t I?  It’s for a good cause, and maybe I happen to know a lot about soccer.”

“You do?” asked Garrett.

“I might,” Nora said, in a singsong voice.  “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

“You want to work on that Teenage Fanclub song Leah was talking about yesterday?” asked Nick.

“Yes, yes, yes!” answered Nora.

“Wait,” said Garrett.  “Just a sec, before you get all involved in that.  Nick, how’d you pick your teams?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” answered Nick. 

“He probably just put Portugal in to win and worked backward,” said Bram, smiling.

“Not totally,” protested Nick.  “That would only take care of a little part of the bracket.  I also checked out which teams had the highest ranking players.”  He looked insulted.

“Who do you have winning?” asked Garrett.

“Who do you think he has?” said Bram.  “Portugal, obviously.”

“Obviously,” echoed Nick.  “It’s Ronaldo’s time.  To.  Shine,” he said, drawing out the last three words.  “You can see who I picked by looking at my bracket online, if you’re that interested.”

“Oh, good idea,” said Garrett.  “We can also see if anyone else has posted brackets.  You got a laptop down here?”

“Yeah, over on the game table.”  Nick nodded his head toward a card table on the other side of the basement surrounded by folding chairs.  On top of it were the laptop, a couple empty Coke bottles, a pen, a couple of pencils and some Nerf darts.

Garrett and Bram went over to the table to figure out their World Cup choices while Nora got out her guitar.  She started playing, stopping every once in a while when she couldn’t figure something out or if Nick wanted her to try a short passage again. 

Bram booted up the laptop and went to the website where they were going to upload their contest entries. 

“How are you picking your teams?” asked Garrett.

“I’m not quite sure yet,” said Bram.  “I looked at the FIFA team rankings and I was looking at player rankings on Yahoo! Sports, and I’m trying to decide how to weight teams versus players.  How ‘bout you?”

“You’re taking this pretty seriously,” smiled Garrett.

“There’s a signed soccer ball at stake!”

“Yeah, yeah.  You only want to win because of the prize.  Okaaaayy.” 

Bram rolled his eyes.  “Maybe I want to win it for my little brother.  Get him something different from all those boring baby gifts everyone else got him.”

“Oh, right.  Because a newborn has a clue about soccer.”

“So you’re just phoning it in, guessing randomly?” Bram asked.

“Hell, no!” answered Garrett.  “I wouldn’t mind having an autographed soccer ball that I could use at practice to remind the rest of you of my superior knowledge on the subject.  I’ve done some reading and I watch a lot of soccer during the year, so I’ve got a decent feel for the top players,” said Garrett.  “And I have managed to keep up a little bit with the qualifiers,” he added.  “Once I’ve picked the teams I think will make it out of group play, I’m going to look at the matchups and take an educated guess at each level and see where that leads me.”

“How do you think Messi is going to do?” asked Bram.

“I think he’s going to do great,” said Garrett.  “This has got to be his last World Cup, considering he almost didn’t play at all,” he said, alluding to Messi’s short-lived retirement from international soccer.

“But do you think the rest of the Argentina team is going to be good enough?”  Bram opened up Nick’s bracket.  “Nick has Argentina losing in the quarters.”

“Nick has Argentina losing to Portugal,” replied Garrett, “so that means nothing.  I don’t even think Portugal is going to be on the same side of the bracket as Argentina.  Portugal would have to beat Spain if Argentina wins Group D.  Spain’s got a ton of great players.”

“Good point.  Still, I don’t think Argentina has enough top to bottom to do well.”

They argued about Argentina for a while, Garrett ultimately having Argentina go all the way to the final to win against Portugal.

When Bram saw Garrett’s entire bracket, which included Spain, Argentina, Costa Rica, England, Portugal, France, Brazil and Belgium as the final eight, with Argentina beating England in the semis and Portugal winning against Belgium on the other side, he laughed long and hard.  “Are you kidding me?” he said.  “Portugal and Argentina in the final?  Argentina winning it all?”

“Classic Ronaldo/Messi matchup,” countered Garrett.

“Have you seen France play lately?  And Brazil could practically field two teams with top-100 players.  And Germany is the best in the world right now and won in 2014.  How on earth do you have Germany losing to Costa Rica?” 

“That’s just how it worked out when I figured out how the group play would go.  And besides, like you said, Germany just won it.  No one wins two in a row.”

“Sure they do.  Italy and Brazil have.”

“Like a million years ago.  No one has in decades.  Let me see your bracket.”

Bram showed Garrett.  Bram had high seeds all the way through, for the most part, except he didn’t see any way Poland could make it out of the round of 16 with so few top players, so he had Poland losing to England. 

“OK,” said Garrett.  “You and I both picked Spain, Argentina, England, France, Brazil and Belgium to go to the quarters.  You have Germany and Uruguay where I have Costa Rica and Portugal, and then for the semis, we picked the complete opposites for every game.  How did that happen?”

Bram looked over Garrett’s shoulder.  Sure enough, Bram had Spain, Germany, France and Brazil in the semis, Germany and Brazil in the final, and Brazil winning it all.

“I guess we’ll see,” said Bram.  “I stand by my bracket!”

The boys entered their brackets in the Creekwood subgroup under Garrett ‘Til the End and Field of Green.  They saw that Anna, Morgan, Abby and Leah also had entries and looked through them.  Leah’s actually looked like she had a clue, although she clearly didn’t pick up on the no-way-two-in-a-row issue, since she had Germany winning.  The boys could not figure out what Anna, Morgan and Abby were thinking until they noticed the name of Abby’s entry, Abby’s Random Picks.  Well, if they had gotten together and chosen teams randomly, that would explain Abby’s Saudi Arabia winner and Anna’s Tunisia winner.  Morgan’s was probably done randomly too, but she appeared to have lucked out with Portugal winning the whole thing.  But if Portugal did win, no way would her bracket beat Nick’s, which, other than his assumption that Portugal would win, was fairly well thought out overall.

They were about to look at the Simon Says entry when they realized it was six o’clock.  “Oh, man,” said Garrett.  “I need to get going.  I told my mom I’d be home for dinner, and I need to practice piano.”

“OK, let’s go then,” said Bram, who had driven their work carpool that day and so had to give Garrett a ride home.  “We’re out of here,” he waved at Nora and Nick, who barely noticed as they were still deep into Nora’s guitar lesson.

Bram and Garrett bounded up the basement stairs like the athletes they were.  On the drive over to Garrett’s, Garrett said, “Hey, did you look at Simon’s entry?”

“Simon Says?  No, I didn’t.  I don’t think he knows anything about soccer though,” said Bram.  “Remember when he asked about tryouts and called them ‘auditions’?”

“Yeah, but Leah’s bracket was pretty good, and those two are best friends, so you never know.  What’s up with those two, anyway?”

“I don’t know, why?”  Bram didn’t want to say that he had started to suspect that Simon was Jacques.  All those glances from Simon, the fact that Simon hadn’t dated any girls in ages even though girls fawned all over him constantly, the fact that Jacques wrote liked Simon talked, and the way Simon and Leah acted around each other.  Comfortable, but not like they actually planned to touch each other.

“Just wondering,” said Garrett.  He was thinking about Leah’s wicked sense of humor.  Really, her overall wickedness.  God, he had a thing for her. 

Bram was simultaneously feeling guilty about thinking how adorable Simon was and how he almost leaned over just to nuzzle Simon’s hair one day when they happened to sit next to each other on the couch in English until he stopped himself just in time.  His heart belonged to Jacques, not Simon.  Unless Simon was Jacques…  

“Simon Says is a pretty good name,” Garrett mused.  “Jacques a dit.”

Bram was shaken out of his daydream.  “What did you just say?”

“Oh, nothing.  We play Jacques a dit in French class on Fridays sometimes to practice our conversational French.  It’s the same game as Simon Says here.”

“But ‘Jacques’ isn’t the same as ‘Simon,’ is it?” asked Bram, confused.

“No,” Garrett agreed.  “I think Jacques is the same as James, maybe Jacob?  But for whatever reason, when they play Simon Says in France, they call it ‘Jacques a dit.’  So I’m guessing that’s where Simon got his team name.  It’s pretty clever I think.”  Garrett came off as a slacker at school because he could be a goofball, but he was actually quite bright, and he was nearly fluent in French, which was his favorite class.

Bram was lost in thought the rest of the way to Garrett’s and while he drove home.  Hmmm.  There was no way Simon’s World Cup bracket name was Simon Says and Simon wasn’t Jacques in the emails.  Just no way.  Bram would have to see if Simon’s bracket was based on player hotness.  He giggled.  Maybe it was time they finally came out, at least to each other.

But when Bram got inside, he forgot to take a look at Simon’s bracket because his mom had actually made dinner.  “Hey, Mom, what’s the occasion?” he asked.

“Can I not make my son a meal?” she responded.

“Well, sure.  But you’re so busy at work these days, I guess I don’t want to expect it.”

His mom sighed.  She felt bad for working so much.  Between her work schedule, Bram’s soccer schedule, his friends and her sister’s life of drama, she and Bram didn’t sit down together for a home cooked meal very often.  But tonight she had made pork tenderloin and roasted new potatoes and asparagus, and the whole house smelled delicious.

“I just thought we should have a little celebration of your coming out,” she said.

“Aw, Mom.  Celebration?  Really?  And besides, I haven’t come out to the world yet.”

“You will in your own time, Blueberry,” she said.  “In your own time.  And in the meantime, I feel so honored that you told me.  And you know, we need to talk about sex.”

“Mom!”

“I know you know how it works, but even though you’re not going to be getting anyone pregnant, you still need to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.”

Bram groaned.  “We have discussed this in excruciating detail already,” he protested.  “The diseases haven’t changed just because I’m gay.”

“Well, okay,” said his mom, “but you’re actually dating someone now, so I think we need to talk about this again.”

“Writing emails back and forth does not constitute dating, at least not in the sense you’re talking about,” pointed out Bram.  “No one gets STDs through email.”

“Don’t tell me you and your penpal are never going to reveal yourselves to each other,” said Bram’s mom.  “You don’t email for a year and then never bother to meet.”  And then she proceeded to discuss STDs and condoms in way more detail than Bram wanted to hear, even though she had had this discussion with him before he came out.  Bram knew she couldn’t help herself, and he supposed he was glad she cared so much.  And he knew that her being an epidemiologist had made her hyper aware of STDs, but when she got to the “condoms every time, including oral” part of her speech, he wanted to crawl under the table. 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jun 11 at 8:49 PM

SUBJECT:  proud of you

Jacques,

I’m so proud of you!  That’s pretty funny that your sisters had already figured it out and also really cool that they kept it to themselves until you told them.  They sound pretty great.  You’re right.  Now that we have been having decent experiences with our parents, it does seem too bad we waited so long.  But I don’t think we were ready before.  And you’re right, telling my dad can wait a few weeks.  If I told him the same week Caleb was born, he might have a heart attack.  It’s not Caleb’s fault I got brave just as he was being born.  I can’t go denying him a dad (or myself, for that matter) just because I’m anxious to talk to our dad about my sexual identity.  “Our dad” sounds good.  I suppose I am looking forward to being a big brother, even if it will be from a distance. 

My mom decided to cook a big dinner to celebrate my coming out.  It was sweet.  She works so hard, and I’m so busy, that we don’t get dinner together many nights, and certainly not fancy home-cooked meals, so it was nice.  But then she launched into a sex talk.  Did I mention she’s an epidemiologist?  I reminded her that we had had this discussion a long time ago, and now there was no way I was getting anyone pregnant, so there was even less of an issue, but she just kept going.  And going.  And going.  When she got to the Condom Every Time Including Oral part of the speech, I thought I would die of embarrassment. 

Trying to hold it together through that speech wore me out.  Good night, Jacques.

Love,

Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this, I had no idea about any troubles of Cristiano Ronaldo, and fictional Nick doesn't either. This story really has nothing to do with Ronaldo and takes place before some of the recent news articles, and so I'm not going to address any of his behavior in this story. I obviously do not condone it, however.


	6. Nora Makes Her Picks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora chooses her World Cup bracket, Simon tells Nora and Alice about Blue, and Blue and Jacques make a plan to meet.

While Bram was eating with his mom and Garrett was practicing piano, Nora stayed at Nick’s, working on her new song and her technique generally.  Nick had agreed to keep giving her lessons until he left for college.  They only met once or twice a week, and it was a nice break from his regular routine.  And Nora was a good student. 

As she was getting her stuff together to go home, she said, “Thanks for fitting me in today.  I know y’all worked all day.”

“No problem!” said Nick.  “You know that playing guitar is my happy place.  And you already know how to play, so we’re just refining your technique and trying more complicated things.  It’s not like you’re a complete beginner.”

“Why did you offer to give me lessons, anyway?” asked Nora.

“I knew from Leah that you girls were starting a band, and you’re the little sister of one my best friends.  I couldn’t have you embarrassing me.”

Nora rolled her eyes.  “Okaaayyy.”

Nick laughed.  “Seriously.  What kind of friend would I be to Simon if I didn’t impart my wisdom?  And you bribed me,” he added, thinking back to the cardamom cinnamon rolls she made him the first time she asked for help.

“Ooh, that reminds me” Nora said.  “I brought you something.”  She had her mongo purse with her, solely to hold her surprise for Nick.  “Another experiment.  I hope you don’t mind.”  She pulled out a zippered plastic bag of brownies.  “These are my newest creation, spicy brownies.  Taste!”

Nick took one out of the bag and took a small bite.  Their fragrance was chocolaty with a subtle added aroma he couldn’t place.  “Holy smokes these are good, Nora!  What is that extra flavor?  It’s subtle.  I can’t tell what it is but it’s really good!”

Nora grinned.  “Oh, good!  I’m glad you like them.  It’s allspice, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  Unfortunately, I was just eyeballing it so I’m not sure how much I used.  This one is going to be a little hard to recreate.”

Nick started his second brownie.  “Want one?”  He held the bag out to her.  Nora took one.  It was good.  Chewy and a tad less sweet than her normal brownies.  So much better than those dumb Oreos Simon was always going on and on about.

“Okay, well, I need to get going,” she said, standing up.

“Need a ride?”

“No, I’ll walk.  Thanks.”  She left Nick eating his third brownie.

As she walked home, she started thinking about her World Cup bracket.  She had been listening surreptitiously to Bram and Garrett, and she had been reading about it ever since she first heard about the contest from Nick.  She knew Simon didn’t have a clue about soccer, and she wouldn’t mind at least tromping all over his bracket, even if she couldn’t beat Nick, Garrett and Bram.

“Hey, Mom, I’m home,” she called when she walked in.  Bieber bounded toward her, and she bent down to scratch him behind the ears as he wagged his tail and licked her hand.  Her dad met her in the front hall.

“What about me?  I don’t get to know where my baby girl is?”

“Oh, hey Dad.  I’m home!” she informed him.  He smiled.  Nora’s sense of humor was closer to dad humor than Simon’s and Alice’s.

“Mom was just about to call you.  She said to tell you about the Watsons needing a babysitter tonight.  You know, the family down the street?”

“Yeah, I know them,” said Nora.  “I’ve babysat for them a few times.  What time do they need me there?”

“Seven-thirty.  I guess they just want to get out for a movie.  Mom told them she thought you could do it.”

Nora needed some cash and really liked the little boys, so she called to confirm, grabbed a slice of pizza from the kitchen, having missed dinner while she was at Nick’s, and walked down the street to the Watsons’ house.  She had her group-play and bracket papers to work on after the boys fell asleep.  They were six and almost four, so she would have a couple quiet hours to herself.

Or maybe just an hour and a half, by the time the boys finally settled down and went to sleep.  She had to act out an extra story with all the voices for the little one and let the older one practice reading an Elephant and Piggie book to her before they succumbed to heavy eyelids and fell asleep.

Finally, she settled into the recliner in the living room and got to work.  Like Leah, she had checked on the team rankings.  But she had also listened to Nick and Bram and Garrett and done some independent reading on her own.  She agreed with Bram that Argentina didn’t have a deep enough team to go far and decided to go with Garrett’s completely unsupportable claim that Germany would not repeat and chose the game against the young England team to be Germany’s undoing.  And she knew Nick’s love of Portugal was skewed by his blind faith in Cristiano Ronaldo, so while she figured Portugal would make it out of group play, she wasn’t so sure Portugal would go deep.  Depended on which teams they drew in the elimination rounds. 

She had heard of Uruguay and knew it was ranked first in Group A, but she also figured that the home-team advantage (and maybe the refs) would favor Russia, so she chose Russia and Uruguay one-two out of that group.  Spain and Portugal were easy picks out of Group B, as was France for Group C, but for the second team out of Group C she picked Denmark, due to the strength of some of its individual players over those of Peru.  For Group D, she picked Argentina and Croatia.  She didn’t think there was any way Iceland was going far, even if it did squeak into the elimination round, and she didn’t think it would.  Iceland had to work so hard to get into the tournament that Nora reasoned it had already peaked.  Nora continued in this way, looking at the top teams for each group, and deciding in a few places not to pick the two top-ranked teams.  For Group E, she chose Costa Rica over Switzerland, together with Brazil, for Groups F and G she went with the favorites, Germany, Mexico, Belgium and England, and for Group H, she decided on Poland and her one long shot, Senegal.  She couldn’t see any of the Group H teams getting to the quarterfinals, so it didn’t really matter, and maybe Senegal would get her a point in the round of 16 that no one else would get.

She ended up with Portugal, France, Brazil, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Germany and England as her quarterfinal teams, with France and Spain in the final, Spain winning, and Brazil beating England in the third-place game.  She submitted her bracket under the name Nora Knows and hoped for the best.

After she got home from babysitting, she wandered into Simon’s room to see if he was up.  He was.  He was focused on something on his computer, typing an email maybe?

“Can you knock?” he asked, as she walked in.  He turned toward her fully while partially closing his laptop.

“Oh, sorry.  Whatcha doing?”

“Nothing.  What do you want?”

“I just filled out my World Cup bracket.  I think it’s pretty good, actually.  I didn’t look at the other ones yet but I saw you had entered yours.  I’m assuming you’re Simon Says.”

“Oh, yeah.  That’s me,” he answered, but he seemed distracted. 

“Who’d you pick?”

“Hmmm?”

“Simon, what is wrong with you?  You seem completely out of it.”  Just then, Alice walked in. 

“Can you knock?” Simon asked Alice, irritated. 

“No,” replied Alice.  “Whatcha doing?”

“I was just in the middle of something.”  Nora and Alice didn’t move but instead waited for him to explain.  Simon paused.  He hadn’t told anyone about Blue except Leah.  But Nora and Alice had been way cool about him coming out, and he didn’t see any harm in telling them about Blue.  He was going to tell Blue who he was soon anyway.  He had to.  He could barely stand seeing Bram these days and not talking to him as Blue.  He was so sure Bram was Blue.  Ooooh.  Cute Bram.

“Simon?”  Alice was waving her hand in front of him.

“Oh.  Sorry.”  He shook his head and smiled sheepishly. 

“I think Si has someone on his mind,” said Alice.  “He’s all dreeeaammy.” 

“Ooh, are you seeing someone?” Nora asked.

Simon sighed, loudly.  Alice and Nora continued to stand still, staring at him, until he spoke again.  “Um, no?  Not really.  But sort of,” he eventually answered.  “Look, can you keep a secret?”

Nora and Alice looked at him pointedly.  “What do you think?” asked Alice.

“Yeah, okay.”  He turned toward Nora, addressing her.  “Do you remember that Tumblr post at the beginning of the school year by the gay guy at Creekwood and the ocean between people?”

“Was that you?” asked Nora.

“What Tumblr post?” asked Alice, at the same time.

Nora said, “back in August last year, someone posted something on creeksecrets about being gay and emotionally alone or something like that.  I don’t remember it very well.”  She turned toward Simon.  “Was that you?” she asked again.

Simon just looked at her.  “Do you think I can write like that?”

“You’re in AP English,” Nora responded.  But then, “well, no, I don’t really think you are all that poetic,” she smiled.  “So what about that post?”

“Yeah, what about it?” echoed Alice.

“I commented on it, and the guy who wrote it and I have been emailing for almost a year.”

“Oh, wow, Si.  Who is he?  Wait, no, I don’t need to know.  None of my business,” said Nora.

“Oh, I definitely want to know,” said Alice.  “Spill.”

Simon grinned.  He couldn’t help himself.  Nora was an awesome little sister, and even though Alice was a pain in the ass, he was happy that he could finally talk to someone about all this and he knew his sisters had his back. 

“Actually, I don’t know for sure.  We’ve never used our own names.  But now I really want to know who he is.”  He got dreamy-eyed again.

“You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?” Nora asked, ever perceptive.

Simon just blushed. 

“So who is he?” asked Alice.  “You have figured it out by now, haven’t you?”

“I think so.  It took me a while.  At first I thought he was Cal Price but it’s not him.”

“Cal?  I thought he dated girls,” replied Nora.

“He does.  But he’s into guys too.  He told me last year.  He’s a good guy.  I’ve gotten to know him pretty well doing the plays at school.  But Blue,…”

“Blue?” asked Alice.

“Oh.  That’s the name the guy I’ve been emailing.  His pen name.  Anyway, I think he wants to know who I am, too.  He’s let a few hints slip lately.  Like I know he follows soccer, and his parents are divorced, and he used to live in Savannah, and his dad and stepmom just had a baby.”

Nora knew exactly who Blue was from that description.  Definitely Bram.  Over at Nick’s she had heard Bram talk about having a new little brother and going to Savannah to see his dad, and obviously he was a soccer player.  Simon calling him Cute Bram made her think that’s who Simon thought Blue was too.  But she kept her mouth shut.  “So, what are you going to do?” she asked. 

“I’m not sure yet.  If we come out to each other, we’re probably going to end up being out to the world, and I’m not sure if we’re ready for that.  On the other hand, my friends are going to know soon enough.”

“How?” asked Alice.

“Umm,” answered Simon, his face becoming even pinker. 

“What did you do?” asked Nora.

“Well,” he paused.  Then, “I picked my World Cup winners based on player hotness.”

“You did not!” said Nora, trying not to laugh.

“What?  Why not?  I know that’s probably not a good way to figure out who’s going to win, but…”

“Probably not?  Or maybe definitely not?”

“Okay, okay.  But I’m not going to know more than the soccer guys, so I might as well have fun with it.  I have Brazil and Mexico in the final with Brazil winning.”

“Well, that’s not that crazy,” said Nora.  “But if the rest of your bracket looks pretty out there, the guys are going to want to know what you were thinking.  Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I am.  I’m actually feeling pretty comfortable in my own skin finally.”  He smiled.  He did feel good about coming out.  And he was tired of hiding who he was.

“Good night, Si.”

“Good night, NoNo.”

“Don’t call me that!” she laughed, as she left his room.

Alice walked over and hugged him.  “I’m glad you can talk to us, little bro,” she said.  Simon hugged her back and smiled.

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jun 11 at 10:57 PM

SUBJECT:  Re:  proud of you

Blue,

I think I’m ready to come out to the world.  Not in some big way, but to my friends and then, if someone asks, or if it filters out from people talking about it, that’s fine.  I’m tired of hiding, and I don’t want my family to have to hide it.  And I really really want to meet you in person.  What do you think?  I understand if you aren’t ready, but I’m getting the feeling that you’re feeling this way too?  After you tell your dad maybe? 

By the way, I’m going to my grandparents’ up in New Hampshire the week after the Fourth.  We’re dragging one of my best friends (the one I came out to) up with us (girl, remember? No competition with you, ;) ).  My parents asked her to come with us last year and it was really fun, and they asked me if she could come this year.  Her mom works a lot and they don’t have a lot of extra cash and she won’t really talk about it, but I don’t think she usually gets to go on vacation but she’s so fun and her coming with us is awesome.  She’s good friends with my sisters and has been playing in a band with my little sister.  Anyway, my dad’s parents used to live in Georgia, but they started vacationing on a lake in New Hampshire and one day they just decided to move there after retirement, so it’s freaking awesome for us because now we get to go to this freaking awesome lake for a week every summer.  Have you decided when you’re going to see your dad and your new little brother?

Love, 

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jun 12 at 7:12 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  proud of you

Jacques,

Yes, I have thought of coming out to the world and for the same reasons as you!  I don’t want my mom to have to lie, because that’s not fair to her, and I am also feeling more comfortable with talking about it, at least a little bit.  Hopefully, she’s not talking about my sexuality to anyone, but someone might ask her if I’m going to homecoming or something.  Anyway, the feeling of weight lifting from my shoulders when I told my mom was, as you say, freaking awesome.  I hadn’t realized until I told her how burdensome thinking about it all the time without being able to talk about it had gotten.  But I want to tell my dad myself first.  I talked to my mom, and she thinks going to Savannah the week of July 4th would be okay, as long as it’s okay with my dad.  By then Caleb will be about a month old, and, TMI, but apparently my stepmom will feel a lot better four weeks out.  So I’m going to go down that week, probably for just a few days at the end of the week.  I’m supposed to work that week, but a lot of kids are not going to be at the camp where I’m working that week since the 4th is on a Wednesday, and the head of the camp said we could each take a couple days as long as we aren’t all gone at once, and so it should work out. 

And yes, I have been thinking about us, and I do want to meet you in person too.  So, after your vacation, okay?  I can’t believe I’m about to hit Send on this email.  But it’s time, and I’m smiling, and it’s going to work out.  You’re right, we deserve to have the same kinds of experiences as straight people.  (I was about to start waving a rainbow flag, except I don’t have one.  I’m not quite there yet.)

Love,

Blue

 


	7. The World Cup Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The World Cup begins, and Garrett keeps up a running text commentary throughout.

Wednesday, June 13, 8:14 PM, text from Garrett to Bram:  Hey, bro, we need our own prize for winning the World Cup contest.

Bram to Garrett, 8:58 PM:  Sorry I’m just now responding.  Was in the shower.  Prize?  We?  What are you talking about?

Garrett to Bram, 8:59 PM:  There’s going to be a boatload of people entering into the WC online competition, so we need a Creekwood prize in case none of us wins one of those autographed soccer balls the pro teams are giving out.

Bram to Garrett, 9:00 PM:  In case?  I’m pretty sure none of us will be in the top three of approximately a zillion. 

Garrett to Bram, 9:01 PM:  I know, right?  That’s why we need our own prize.  To make this more interesting.

Bram to Garrett, adding Nick, 9:02 PM:  Nick, Garrett says we need a Creekwood prize for our group’s winner of the WC contest to make it more interesting.

Nick to Garrett and Bram, 9:06 PM:  Definitely. 

Bram to Nick and Garrett, 9:07 PM:  Pool? 

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 9:08 PM:  Nah.  There’s only 9 of us so at $10 a person, the pool would only be $90, and that camp ain’t paying us squat, so I don’t want to add another $10 to this just for a $90 pool, and no way I’m putting in more than $10.

Bram to Nick and Garrett, 9:09 PM:  You worried you won’t beat Garrett and me?

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 9:10 PM:  If Portugal doesn’t win it all, I might not do any better than Simon.  

Garrett to Bram and Nick, 9:11 PM:  A trophy!  Bragging rights and a trophy! 

Bram to Garrett and Nick, 9:12 PM:  That’s cool, but where do we get a trophy?

Garrett to Bram and Nick, 9:13 PM:  I’ll figure something out.

Garrett did a little research online and found a trophy store that had trophies for less than $20.  He found one that was, in his mind, perfect.  It was hideous, with a white marble base, a blue and turquoise column with “2018” on it diagonally over and over like barber-pole stripes, topped with a gold-tone thing that looked like a firecracker exploding out of a cup that cradled a soccer ball.

Garrett sent out a group text about the trophy.

Garrett to Bram, Nick, Simon, Anna, Morgan, Nora, Abby and Leah, 11:26 PM:  Hey, Creekwood competitors!  We need something to make the World Cup more interesting, so I ordered a trophy for our group.  The winner among us will have an awesome trophy in addition to bragging rights.  This is pretty much what it looks like.  

Garrett added a picture to his text.

Simon to group, 11:27 PM:  That is freaking awesome, Garrett!  Hey, how much do we owe you?

Garrett to group, 11:28 PM:  You would be surprised how little this set me back.  My treat.

Bram to group, 11:29 PM:  You have outdone yourself.  Can’t wait to put that on my mantle.

Leah to group, 11:30 PM:  You wish, sucker. 

Anna to group, 11:31 PM:  It is nice, but next time, maybe purple and black?

Morgan to group, 11:32 PM:  Ooh, or pink and black?

Abby to group, 11:36 PM:  <3 <3 <3

Nick to group, 11:37 PM:  I think it looks cool, bro!  Nice job!

Nora to group, 11:37 PM:  My room is blue, so I think it will match the décor.  Good job, Garrett!

Abby to group, 11:38 PM:  How sad is it that we are all free on a beautiful summer evening to text about this?

 

Leah to Simon, 11:44 PM:  I am so going to win that trophy.  I can’t decide if it’s cheesy or badass.

Simon to Leah, 11:45 PM:  If you win it, it’s badass.  :)

 

The next few days went by like a typical summer in the suburbs.  Summer jobs, backyard cookouts, new recipes from Nora, people coming and going on vacations, and band practice for Emoji but without Taylor, who was still at acting camp.  Nick let Leah use his e-kit, and since Taylor wasn’t around and they were practicing in his basement, he filled in as lead singer even though most of their song choices were meant for a girl’s voice, not a baritone.  Sometimes he sang in falsetto, but that didn’t go over well.

After band practice one Saturday afternoon, Leah drove Anna, Morgan and Nora home.  She took Anna and Morgan home first because she and Simon were working the same shift at WaHo that night so she was going to pick him up. 

After they dropped off Morgan and Anna and got to the Spiers’ house, Nora turned to Leah before they got out of the car.  “Simon told me he told you,” Nora said.

Leah, picking up on what Nora was talking about, said, “Yeah.  He said you and Alice already knew.”

“Well, we were pretty sure.  We had both noticed how he looked at girls compared to how he looked at boys, and once we talked about it, we noticed other things.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for one thing, he hasn’t had a date in two years.”

“Yeah.  I had noticed that but I hadn’t put it all together.  But now that you mention it, he always seems a little uncomfortable when one of the other guys makes some asinine comment about one of the girls at school.”

“And I think he likes someone we know,” said Nora.

“He told you?” asked Leah.

“About the emails?”

“Yeah.  He said he’s been emailing someone he calls ‘Blue.’”

“I totally know who that is,” smiled Nora.

“You do?!” said Leah.  “Tell me, tell me!”

“Bram.”

Leah thought about it for a moment.  “That makes total sense!  When he said he was emailing someone he called Blue, something was in the back of my mind but I couldn’t quite place it, but you know, I think I have seen him staring at Bram a few times.  And Bram’s World Cup team name is Field of Green.  I wonder where the blue comes in?”

“Simon told me Blue’s email address is bluegreen118 and that he likes soccer.  And Si called Bram ‘Cute Bram’ when he told Alice about going to the movies with the guys one night.”

Leah, the birthday queen, said, “Bram’s birthday is January 18!  Oh, Blue is totally Bram!”  She paused to envision Simon and Bram together, holding hands and smiling goofy smiles.  “They are going to make a cute couple if they ever get their act together and say something to each other.”

“Right?  Too bad Bram’s off the market for the rest of us, but if he’s going to be unavailable, I guess I’m glad it’s because he’ll be with my brother.”  Simon wasn’t the only one who referred to Bram as “Cute Bram.”

“Assuming they actually talk to each other outside email,” replied Leah.  “I can’t believe it’s been almost a year and they still haven’t actually told each other their real names.”

“Yeah.  But I think Simon at least hasn’t been ready to until recently.  He’s all friendly and goofy on the outside, but some of that’s a cover.”

“Listen to you, all serious!” laughed Leah.  “You’re right though,” she agreed.  “You know how much I adore your brother, but now that I’m thinking about it, he usually deflects whenever we talk about something serious.  But when he told me he was gay, he seemed happier than I can remember once he realized I was okay with it.  I could practically see the weight lift, and his smile was so big it practically filled his face up.”

“That’s a great way to put it!” exclaimed Nora.  “He was like that when he told us, too.  He was nervous but happy and overwhelmed and just plain relieved.  I can’t imagine what it’s been like for him.”

Leah could, but she wasn’t ready to say anything to Nora yet about being bisexual.  Maybe soon, but not yet.  Someday.

They got out of the car, and Leah went in the house with Nora to get Simon for their shift at WaHo.  When they got inside, Leah immediately crouched down to receive the wiggly Bieber and give him a big hug.  He gave her a kiss and she rewarded him with a scratch behind the ears and then, seeing his pink bunny in his toybox by the front door, she grabbed it and tossed it across the room.  Bieber ran after it and brought it near Leah but not to her.  Instead, he plopped down on the floor in front of her and chewed on his bunny’s ear.  He looked up at Leah briefly and wagged his tail and then went back to chewing.

Just then, Simon came into the foyer, ready to go.  “Hey, Biebs,” he said.  “Are you going to let Leah play with your bunny too?”

Bieber ignored Simon completely.

“Let’s go,” laughed Leah.  “I’m clearly no match for Pink Bunny.”

“I don’t know what it is with that thing,” said Simon.  “But it is by far his favorite toy.  He chews on it, and sometimes he tosses it up in the air by grabbing an ear and flicking his head up and letting go, and sometimes he uses it as a pillow when he’s sleeping.  He has a cow and a frog too, but he usually ignores them.  Anyway, let’s go.  Don’t want to be late.”

 

At work later, Simon said, “You’re coming to New Hampshire with us this year, aren’t you?” asked Simon.  “I just assumed you would be.”

“Is that your charming way of inviting me?” asked Leah.

Simon blushed.  “You’re right.  I shouldn’t assume and I should invite you formally.  Do you think you can come?  My mom and dad asked if you could come with us.  We would love it if you could, but I know you have Emoji and work and stuff.”

Leah smiled.  She really did want to go, and this year she was going to insist on buying her own plane ticket.  She knew Simon was giving her an out because of the money thing.  She hated never having money, and she almost didn’t go last year because she didn’t want Jack and Emily paying for her to be there.  This summer she had worked as many hours as WaHo would give her to earn some extra money so that, if Simon asked, she could go and pay her way with having to ask her mom for money for the trip.  And she was saving up for drums.  And now Abby had gotten her hooked on the whole pedicure thing!  Abby’s infectious grin crept into Leah’s mind.  Lots of hours at WaHo would be needed.  Maybe some during the school year too?  No, her mom would never allow it.  Well, maybe just a few hours a week.  Leah would have to see if she could work something out.

Simon waved a hand in front of her face, and she snapped back to the present.

“I would love to go,” she said.  “We’ll have to work out coverage at WaHo, but I’m willing to work a bunch of extra hours for other people before and after.”

“Yeah, me too.  Anything to get out of the heat for a few days.   Can’t wait to swim in the lake!”

“And see your grandparents?”

“Well, yeah.  That too.”

 

That weekend, Garrett picked up the Creekwood World Cup trophy.  Monday morning, it was his turn to drive the soccer camp carpool, and he showed the trophy to Bram and Nick when he picked them up. 

Garrett held it out to Nick for inspection.  “What do you think?”

“That’s, um,” he stopped, not knowing what to say.  “Well,” he started again.  “It’s pretty ugly,” he said, finally.  He peered at the tiny writing on the gold-tone plaque that was glued on the base. 

1st Place  
Creekwood World Cup

“It’s kinda cool too though,” he admitted.

“Isn’t it great?”  Garrett was really excited about it.

Nick inspected it more closely.  “Yeah, it would look pretty good in the old trophy case.”

“You have a trophy case?”

Nick laughed.  “No, not really.  I was kidding.  I don’t have an actual trophy case.  But I have a shelf with a couple of soccer trophies.”

They picked up Bram, and Garrett shoved it at Bram before he was even buckled in. 

“What do you think?”

Bram took it from Garrett, inspected it carefully, tapped the based with his fingernail, checked out the engraving, and hefted it to feel the weight.  “Garrett,” he said, “you have outdone yourself.  I will be proud to put this on the mantle over my fireplace.”

Garrett grinned.  There was a reason Bram was his best friend.  He just got Garrett.

That night, Garrett sent out a group text.

Monday, June 25, 7:41 PM, text from Garrett to Bram, Nick, Leah, Simon, Anna, Morgan, Abby and Nora:  Hey, Everyone!  As you know, A&B have finished group play.  Nora & Greenfeld are tied for 1st place w/4 pts each.  Behind them are Eisner, Burke, Morgan, Abby & yours truly, w/3 pts each, Spier has 2 & Anna, sorry, but you’re in last w/1.

Nora to group, 7:48 PM:  Woohoo!

Nick to group, 7:49 PM:  It’s early.  Don’t get too excited, NoNo.

Nora to group, 7:50 PM:  Don’t call me that!!

Simon to group, 7:51 PM:  NoNo, No, No, No NoNoNoNo No, No.

Nora to group, 7:52 PM:  I’m going to kill you, Si.

 

Tuesday, June 26, 7:40 PM, text from Garrett to group:  C&D are done with group play and Little Spier continues in the lead w/8 pts, followed by Greenfeld, Eisner & me w/7 pts each, 6 for Burke, 5 for Morgan, 4 for Spier & Abby, & Anna w/3.

 

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 7:42 PM:  Are you kidding me?  Nora?  OMG.  If a Simon’s little sister does better than we do, that’s gonna suck.  Does she even play sports? 

Garrett to Bram and Nick, 7:44 PM:  I thought maybe you helped her.  Obviously, Spier didn’t.

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 7:45 PM:  No way!  I’m helping her with guitar, not the WC!

Bram to Nick and Garrett, 7:46 PM:  Perhaps you underestimate her because she’s a girl?  She’s quite bright and maybe she knows a lot about soccer.  Why do you assume we will do better than she will?

Nick to Garrett and Bram, 7:47 PM:  Shut up, Bram!

 

Wednesday, June 27, 9:15 PM, text from Garrett to group:  E&F group play is complete.  Sorry for late update.  Practicing for recital & lost track of time.  Things are getting interesting, People.  Little Spier slips & only gets 2 teams in from E&F but stays in the lead, tied w/Greenfeld, w/10 pts!  Burke has caught back up to Eisner & me w/9 pts, Morgan is next w/7, & Abby, Spier, & Anna, y’all have 6 apiece.

Morgan to Leah, Anna and Abby, 10:51 PM:  Our experiment didn’t work very well.  But isn’t Garrett cute with his little emails?  And Leah, you are rockin’ this.  Way to go!

Anna to Morgan, Leah and Abby, 10:54 PM:  How are Garrett’s emails cute?  They’re like sports updates on radio news.

Morgan to Leah, Anna and Abby, 10:55 PM:  But they’re so earnest!

Leah, to Morgan, Anna and Abby, 10:56 PM:  OMG Morgan, shut up.  Earnest?  Really? 

 

Thursday, June 28, 7:11 PM, text from Garrett to group:  OK, everyone should be following along w/your brackets now.  G&H are done, and Greenfeld is finally out ahead of Little Spier.  Way to go Greenfeld, w/13 pts!  Little Spier, you & Burke are next w/12 pts, & Eisner & I each have 11.  Spier, Morgan & Abby are still tied, w/8 each now, & Anna, you’re stuck at 7.  Next round, 2 pts for any win, whether or not you have the winning team in the right slot in your bracket.  So, what’s up, Burke?  Soccer maven?

Leah to group, 7:12 PM:  Garrett, since when do you use words like “maven”?

Garrett to group, 7:13 PM:  Maybe I’m more eloquent than you think?

Nora to group, 7:13 PM:  Girl power!

Simon to group, 7:14 PM:  NoNo, No, No, No NoNoNoNo No, No.

Nora to group, 7:15 PM:  Shut up, Si!!

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jun 28 at 8:03 PM

SUBJECT:  Relationship of hotness to soccer prowess

Blue,

Apparently, hotness is not a great indicator of soccer prowess.  (See how my vocabulary is expanding under your influence?  And that’s not all that’s expanding right now.  I can’t believe I’m typing this.  Only for you, Blue.)  Anyway, I’m not doing well in the World Cup contest.  I got 8 teams into the playoffs.  That’s not very good.  No one expected me to do well, I’m sure, but still.  My sister is doing the World Cup contest too and she is unbelievably awesome.  She and my friend I told you about got 12!  That seems fairly impressive to me, but in the big contest, I checked online, and there’s people that got all 16.  How do they know who’s going to win?

Love,

Jacques

Simon knew that if Bram was Blue, Simon’s latest email would totally give away Simon’s identity, but he didn’t know if Bram would admit it.  As usual, Blue continued to play things close to the vest.

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jun 28 at 10:42 PM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Relationship of hotness to soccer prowess

Jacques,

Sorry that the hotness analysis did not turn out to be a winning strategy for you.  I am glad to hear that the girls in your life are doing so well, however.  Or do they prefer to be called “women”?  :)

Love,

Blue

 


	8. Week of the Fourth; Bram’s Out to Garrett

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Creekwood gang celebrates the 4th of July. Bram comes out to Garrett.

It was Saturday, and the knockout rounds were starting.  Simon walked down the steps to Nick’s basement.

“Hey, Dude,” Nick greeted Simon.  Nora was putting away her guitar.  Usually, Nora walked home after a lesson with Nick, but it was pouring out, and Nora had called Simon and Alice to see who could come get her, and Alice was still at work at the bookstore, so Simon came.  “I’m going to be out of touch this coming week,” Nick told Nora.  “I’m going down to Puerto Rico.”  

“Wow!  I guess I forgot that you had family down there,” said Simon.  “Your mom’s family, right?”

“Yeah.  Her brother still lives there with his wife and two kids.  My grandparents died a while back, so it’s just my Uncle Charlie and his family.  Anyway, we’re leaving tomorrow and not coming back until Friday sometime.  Not sure what it’s going to be like.  My uncle has electricity, but sometimes it goes out and it’s really hot there.”  Nick didn’t sound too excited about the trip.

“What’re you going to be doing while you’re there?” asked Simon.

Nick perked up a little.  “Actually, it’s kind of cool.  My uncle’s an engineer, and he volunteers with a group that’s helping to rebuild some of the infrastructure.  He does electrical work, which I can’t do, but he says that there’s a lot of just moving things around that I can help with.  And my parents are doing some doctor stuff.  There’s a real shortage there.  I think outside San Juan?  I’m not sure.  I haven’t been there since I was a little kid.  But my parents think it’s important that we help and that I see all the damage from the hurricanes last summer.  And my mom really wants to see her little brother.”

Simon was feeling guilty.  “We’re going to be away for a week too, but not until next week, and we’re not doing anything important like you are.”

“You gonna see your grandma and grandpa up in New England?” asked Nick.  “That’s important to them, you going up there.”

“Yeah, I guess, but not like what you’re doing.”

“Hey, we can’t all be heroes,” answered Nick, shoving Simon a little bit. 

“Let’s go, Si,” said Nora, rolling her eyes.  “Have a good trip, Nick!” she added.

Later, Garrett sent out another text update to the group.

Saturday, June 30, 7:30 PM, Garrett to group:  Things are getting serious now, people.  Portugal and Argentina have been knocked out by Uruguay and France.  Remember, 2 pts for any wins in this round, and Greenfeld is pulling away, having picked both Uruguay and France.  Spier also chose Uruguay, and Little Spier, Eisner, Burke, Abby and I all had France for the win.  So it’s Greenfeld with 17, Little Spier and Burke with 14, Eisner and I have 13, Spier and Abby have 10, Morgan has 8 and Anna has 7.

Bram to group, 7:33 PM:  Go, Uruguay!

Nick to group, 7:34 PM:  That game sucked.

Simon to group, 7:37 PM:  Are you kidding?  You’re just mad because Uruguay beat Portugal.  Did you not see the second goal by Cavani?  Beautiful!

Garrett to group, 7:38 PM:  Spier!  Dude!  Since when do you watch soccer?

Simon to group, 7:39 PM:  I can’t watch sports?

Simon was thinking about all the soccer calves.  And he actually had watched the highlights of the game and was not quite ready to come out to the group since he and Blue hadn’t had their talk yet.  He was pretty pleased with his comment, although he had nothing to add to it.

Leah to group, 7:44 PM:  Si and I caught most of the game after our shift this morning.  You gotta admit, Portugal seemed a little flat.  Where was Ronaldo, Nick?

Nick to group, 7:45 PM:  Shut up, Leah!

 

Simon to Leah, 7:45 PM:  You lied for me!

Leah to Simon, 7:46 PM:  I’ve got your back, Bud.

Simon to Leah, 7:47 PM:  :), :)

 

On Sunday, Garrett texted Bram.  9:45 AM:  Want to watch the games today?  Too hot to do anything else.  I’m bored.

Bram to Garrett, 11:20 AM:  Sorry I just got this.  Went to church with my mom.  But yeah.  Here or there?

Garrett to Bram, 11:22 AM:  There.  See you in ten.

Bram turned on the television.  His mom wandered in.  “Who’s playing?” she asked.

“Looks like it’s overtime in the Russia-Spain match.  Tied at one each.  Garrett’s coming over to watch.”

“Oh, good!  He’s such a nice boy.”

“Mooom.  Really?”

“What?  Should I say he isn’t nice?  Or isn’t a boy?”

Bram wasn’t sure how to answer that.  He supposed it would seem weird if his mom referred to Garrett as a guy.  And at least she liked Garrett.  So he just changed the subject.  “Do we have anything to eat?”

“Yeah, some leftovers are in the fridge and some fruit and sandwich stuff.  I’m actually going to the store now.”

The doorbell rang, and Bram answered.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Garrett replied.  “Hi, Bram’s mom!” said Garrett to Bram’s mom.  He could never remember her last name, and it had become a thing for him to just call her “Bram’s mom,” which Bram’s mom was fine with.  She thought that Garrett was adorable, and she was glad Bram had such a close friend.

“Hi, Garrett,” she smiled.  “Okay, boys, I’m off to the store.  Have fun watching soccer.”  And she was gone. 

“Hey,” said Garrett.  “You hungry?”

“I was just thinking about that,” said Bram.  “Let’s get something to eat.”

“Score still tied?” asked Garrett, as they walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah,” said Bram.  “I need Spain to win.”

“Same here.”

They made themselves sandwiches and grabbed carrots and pickles and chips and some drinks and headed back into the living room to watch the end of the game, both groaning as Russia won on penalty kicks.

The next game was Croatia-Denmark, but neither of them had either team left in their bracket, so they didn’t much care who won that game and their attention drifted from the television.

“Hey, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay, what’s up?”  Garrett asked, curious.  Bram looked nervous. 

“Hmm.  How do I say this?”

“Did I do something?”  asked Garrett.

“What?  No!  Nothing like that.”  Bram paused.  “It’s just….”  He stopped again, not knowing how to proceed.  “I just want to tell you something,” he started again.

“Okay.  What’s up?  Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah.  Nothing’s wrong.  It’s just that, well, I’m gay.”

“Oh!  Well, okay.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m not.  I kind of figured you were.”

Bram stared at Garrett.  “What?  Really?  I thought I was so cool!  How did you know?”

“For one thing, you’ve been staring at Simon for forever at lunch.”

“No!  Have I?  When?”

“Well, like all the time by this spring.  But especially when he came to lunch that day between performances of Oliver! and he had his stage makeup on still and his eyes were outlined with eyeliner.  You looked like your eyes were going to pop out of your head.”

“Did everyone notice?”

“I have no idea.  I haven’t talked to anyone about it.”  Garrett shrugged.  “No one has said anything to me though.  They probably didn’t notice.  What’s the deal with him anyway?  Is Simon gay too?”

So Bram told Garrett all about the Jacques and Blue emails and how he became certain Simon was Jacques when Garrett mentioned Jacques a dit when they were working on their World Cup brackets.  And he told Garrett that he and Simon, aka Jacques, had decided to reveal themselves to each other after they got back from their family trips in a couple weeks.

“Dude, it’s cool re Spier, really, but if you’re going to have some big reveal, I’ve got to tell you something.”

“What?”  Bram was a little concerned by Garrett’s tone.

“You need a haircut.  You’re looking a little like Shaun the Sheep.”

“What?!”  That wasn’t what Bram was expecting.

“Oh, man.  Was that racist?  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to say that since you have curly hair, you look like a sheep.  Just this one particular sheep and just because that’s how your hair is right now because you’ve kind of let it get a little long on top this summer.  So, Dude, really, I didn’t mean to offend you, and you’re awesome and frankly, Spier’s been staring at you A LOT the last few months, so this isn’t all that surprising, and he’s going to be thrilled you’re Blue but still, I think you might want to get a trim before you let him know who you really are.”

Bram started to laugh.  And laugh.  And laugh.  He was laughing so hard his eyes started to water.  “Oh my God, Garrett.”

“What?  I’m really sorry if I said the wrong thing.  You know I don’t care if you’re brown, pink, green or purple, right?”

Bram stopped laughing and looked somewhat seriously at Garrett.  “This is why you’re my best friend,” he smiled.

Garrett just looked at him, confused.

“I was scared of coming out, and you’re totally comfortable with it and are going on about my hair and worried that you sound racist.  I know you’re not racist, Garrett.”  He paused.  “You know,” Bram continued, “I love Shaun the Sheep.  Maybe that was the look I was going for!”  He smiled so Garrett would see that he was just giving Garrett a hard time.  “Seriously, Garrett.  Thanks for just being you and not making me feel uncomfortable about this.  I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

“Oh, thank God!  I really don’t want you to think I’m racist.  I thought I blew it there.  You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.  I don’t care if you’re gay.  I guess if I were a girl and wanted to date you I’d care, but just because you’d be unavailable.”  Garrett smiled.  “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know if you wanted to talk about it and I didn’t think you wanted to be out since you didn’t say anything and after that whole thing with those jerks in the cafeteria who were so awful to Sasha and Alix, I just figured you didn’t want to be out.”  He trailed off.

Relief and happiness washed over Bram.  He felt like he should have told Garrett a long time ago.  But no, he corrected himself internally, he hadn’t been ready.  Garrett clearly was fine with it, but Bram hadn’t been ready and that was okay.  Wait, what had Garrett said about Sasha and Alix?

“God, I had forgotten about that day,” Bram said, thinking back, remembering how he tried to hide in plain sight, worried that those guys, who were trying to call Sasha and Alix various slang terms for lesbians and not getting anything right, but being cruel nonetheless, would somehow figure out he was gay too.  “Didn’t they call Sasha and Alix the ‘Munch Bunch’?”

“Yeah.”

“You know, that’s not even a term for lesbians.  It’s a group from some children’s books.  It sounded odd to me that day and I googled it when I got home that night.”

Garrett laughed.  “Oh, my God.  They were incompetent assholes!  What a bunch of morons.  Ms. Knight laid into them too.  I heard they got suspended and had to apologize to Sasha and Alix.”

“I felt bad that I hadn’t told Ms. Knight that day.  I was too worried about getting outed myself.  I wonder who did?”

“Oh, I did.  She was right down the hall and I told her what was going on.”

“That was you?”

“Yup.  Those guys were idiots, and Alix and Sasha knew that, but they shouldn’t’ve had to put up with that.  That’s crap,” said Garrett.

Bram smiled.  Then he rubbed his hand over his hair and started laughing again.  “I guess I do need a haircut,” he said.

 

Sunday, July 1, 5:30 PM, Garrett to group:  It’s a sad day today, people, with Little Spier the only person getting any points at all with her Croatia pick.  Little Spier is catching up to Bram, with 14 points.  The rest of us have nothing to show for our efforts today.  

Nora to group, 5:31 PM:  NoNo, No, No, No NoNoNoNo No, No.  :).

Nick to group, 5:35 PM:  I’m outta here.  I can’t take any more of this!  See y’all when I get back.

 

Nick to Abby, 5:36 PM:  Okay if I come over? 

Abby to Nick, 5:37 PM:  Dad’s here, but he and Mom are going to dinner with some friends in about 20 minutes.  So yeah, come over in about 25 minutes.  :)

Nick to Abby, 5:38 PM:  I’m there.

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 1 at 9:33 PM

SUBJECT:  Trips

Blue,

Have a great time with Caleb.  And let me know how it goes with your dad and stepmom!!  Are you going to the beach while you’re in Savannah?

I think I already told you that we’re going to my dad’s parents’ house in New Hampshire near a lake.  It’s not on the water but it has access so that means we can walk down the street to a beach that’s shared with the other neighbors so even though they don’t have a lake view, it’s still freaking awesome.  I’d rather have access than a view if I could only have one or the other.  The lake is clear and cool and there is a swim dock you can dive off of where the water gets to be about 12 feet deep.  My sisters and I, and cousins if they’re around, and usually my dad too, have cannonball contests off the swim dock.  My friend who’s going with us probably won’t (she refused last year), but she and my mom will dive off the dock and we all play pickle in the middle in the shallower part of the lake and eat a lot of Fritos.  My mom says that her mom used to let her eat Fritos at the pool when she was little because they had corn in them so that meant they were healthy (hahaha) and she’s been gone a long time now (I didn’t know her) (my mom’s mom, not my mom), so whenever we go swimming in a lake or ocean we eat Fritos because my mom says it reminds her of her mom.  So now whenever I have Fritos I think of swimming and the funny grandma I never knew.

And the house is great too. It’s got three bedrooms and a couple foldout couches and some air mattresses so when we go, my sisters and I all sleep in the bedroom that has two sets of bunk beds, so my friend will fit in there too.  Unless there are cousins and aunts and uncles around, and then it’s pretty much every man for himself as we try to get beds before couches before air mattresses.  We play backgammon and spoons and hearts on the screened-in porch and eat a lot of grilled food off paper plates for dinner.  My grandma and grandpa don’t like to do dishes and say that paper degrades easily and they’re not wasting water washing dishes.  I’m not sure about the equities in that argument but whatever.  Their house, their rules.  It’s so much fun.  Maybe I can take you there someday?  I hope so...

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 2 at 12:02 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Trips

Jacques,

I’m actually not driving to Savannah until Thursday morning.  My mom and I are going to watch fireworks Wednesday night.  I love fireworks.  I don’t even care if there’s music as long as I can lie back on a blanket and watch the fireworks like they’re going to rain down all around me.  Do you like fireworks?

I don’t know if I will get to a beach while I’m in Savannah or not.  I’ll probably go at least one afternoon.  I’m not used to being around that many people without a break, and after a day or two, I know I’ll need time to myself.  But I’m only going to be down there until Sunday morning.  I want some time to relax Sunday afternoon before going back to work Monday.  And I want to spend as much time as I can with Caleb while I’m down there.  My mom said he’s going to sleep a lot and might not be much fun yet.  I’ve never been around babies, so I have no idea what he will be like.  My mom says he’s just going to eat, sleep and poop.  So, yeah, I might hit the beach once.  And probably do some reading.  And watch some of the World Cup. 

Speaking of which, how are your picks doing in the World Cup?  Do you have any teams left?  ;)

Love,

Blue

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 2 at 12:33 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Trips

Blue,

Yes, I have a lot of teams left, Mr. Nosy.  Well, okay, five.  And my little sister is trouncing me.  I suck at sports.

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 2 at 12:40 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Trips

Jacques,

I don’t know if you suck at sports or not, but picking World Cup winners isn’t exactly an athletic skill.  I wonder what else you suck at?

Love,

Blue

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 2 at 12:43 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Trips

Blue,

You didn’t just say that!  Truth be told, I don’t actually know.  But I can imagine.  OMG I’m blushing.  I can’t believe we are having this discussion.

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 2 at 12:46 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Trips

Jacques,

“Truth be told?”  :)

Love,

Blue

 

Tuesday, July 3, 9:30 PM, Garrett text to group:  I know I didn’t report scores yesterday, but hopefully, you all have been keeping up.  In case you haven’t, we’ve got a clear line of demarcation between our upper and lower tier brackets now.  With the conclusion of the round of 16 this afternoon, Little Spier, with 22 pts, was impressive with her pick of Croatia into the quarters, but Greenfeld is still ahead with 23, Eisner and I have 19, and Burke is on our tail with 18.  Simon, you have fallen behind, Bud, with just 12 pts, Abby, you have 10, Morgan 8 and Anna, sorry, but you are still at 7.  In fact, Morgan and Anna, you two have no more teams left.  For those of you still in it, remember, a win in the quarters gets you 4 points, so it’s almost anyone’s to take still.  And party at my house to watch the final on July 15, so mark your calendars!

Leah to group, 11:15 PM:  Who’s the badass soccer, or should I say, football, queen now?  Way to go Emoji lead guitarist!  NoNo, No, No, No NoNoNoNo No, No!

Nora to group, 11:16 PM:  :)

Bram to group, 11:17 PM:  We shall see, we shall see.  Looking for some impressive action by Brazil.  That trophy will look good in my house, that’s for sure.

Simon to group, 11:19 PM:  You’re not the only one with Brazil winning!

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 11:21 PM:  Is that for real?  If Brazil wins, I lose to Simon?  I will never live this down.  I’m sorry, Greenfeld, but Brazil needs to lose. 

Garrett to Bram and Nick, 11:22 PM:  You got reception down there?  And yeah, that would be kind of embarrassing.

Bram to Nick and Garrett, 11:23 PM:  I could live with it.  He can’t catch me!

Nick to Bram and Garrett, 11:24 PM:  Texts are fine most of the time.  Cell service is a little spotty.  And shut up, Bram!

Bram to Nick and Garrett, 11:25 PM:  :)

Bram went to bed that night thinking about how funny it would be if Brazil won the World Cup and Simon’s hotness strategy got him second place in the Creekwood stakes.  If Garrett and Nick only knew….

 

July 4, Abby to Nick, 8:00 AM:  Whatcha doing today?

Nick to Abby, 8:15 AM:  Just got out of shower.  Wish you were here.  It’s sad and interesting and fun and ridiculously hot.  We’re actually going to see fireworks tonight though. 

Abby to Nick, 8:16 AM:  We are too, and it’s crazy hot in DC but I bet our A/C works better than yours.  My mom and dad and brother and my cousins’ family and I are all going down to the mall to watch the fireworks.  It will be crowded but totally worth it. 

Nick to Abby, 8:18 AM:  We’re going to watch from the beach.  And swim.

Abby to Nick, 8:19 AM:  In the dark?

Nick to Abby, 8:20 AM:  Oh, yeah.  It’s kind of freaky, but I love it.  But we stay really close in and never go alone at night.  But there’s nothing like it.

 

July 4, Leah to Morgan and Anna, 6:00 PM:  What time are we leaving?

Morgan to Leah and Anna, 6:01 PM:  8?  Since we’re going to your mom’s office roof, we don't have to leave too early.

Anna to Leah and Morgan, 6:02 PM:  Yeah.  I just got off work.  I can drive.  I’ll pick you guys up.

 

At dusk, Bram rang Garrett’s doorbell.  He could hear the piano through the door.  It stopped, and Garrett said, “Hey, come on in!” and went back to the piano and started playing where he had left off.

“Who is this you’re playing?” asked Bram.  “I’ve never heard it.”

“Like it?  It’s Tcherepnin.  I’m playing it in a recital in August, together with pieces by Bartók and Kabalevsky.  My Eastern European set.”

“Yeah.  It’s not what I’m used to, but yeah, I do like it.  Maybe I could come to your recital?”

“Really?  That would be terrific!  No one ever comes except my parents and my older sister, if she’s home from college.”

“Well, come on, my mom’s in the car.  Are your parents coming with us?”

“No, they’re at a barbecue with my sister down the street.”

“Why’s your sister with them?”

“She’s got a thing for one of the guys who’s there.  He’s like a year ahead of her in college but she’s had a thing for him ever since high school.  It’s sort of pathetic, but whatever.”

“Oh, okay.  Well, let’s go.”

 

The entire Spier clan, dressed in black, left their house just before dark and walked down the hill to the main street in the neighborhood, turned left, and walked another quarter mile to the golf course.  They oh-so-innocently walked onto the 16th green along a golf cart path, crossed over into the rough, near some trees, spread blankets, and lay back just in time for the fireworks to start.  Simon thought of Blue and wondered where he was as the fireworks rained down from above.

 


	9. Out of Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leah and the Spiers are on vacation. The Creekwood World Cup winner is revealed. Blue and Jacques email a lot, pretending not to know who the other one is.

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 5 at 11:30 PM

SUBJECT:  Caleb

Jacques,

I’m in Savannah now.  My little brother is soooo cute.  I can’t wait to show you a picture.  My stepmom thinks we look alike, but I’m not sure.  I took some selfies though, so, pretty soon, you will be able to decide for yourself.  My mom was right, though.  He doesn’t do much except eat, sleep and poop.  He cries, but not too much.  He’s so tiny.  I’ve never been around a baby up close before.  He has curly dark hair and itty bitty fingers and he wiggles a lot. 

I’m worn out from the drive and trying to figure out this whole big brother thing.  Talk to you later.

Love,

Blue

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 6 at 10:06 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Caleb

Blue,

I just got this.  I worked late last night, and after a long shift I just came home and fell into bed.  I need to pack since we’re leaving for New England in the morning, and I guess I better do laundry.  And I’ve got to take Bieber to camp.  He’s going to pet camp for a week.  He absolutely loves it!  I’m almost offended at how happy he is when he gets there.  He always sees another dog he knows.  Either that or he makes new friends really quickly.  But I guess it’s better than him being sad when I leave.  I wouldn’t want that.

But Caleb.  Wow.  I don’t remember when my little sister was born since I was just a little kid.  We’re almost exactly two years apart.  So they didn’t let me hold her or anything I don’t think.  That’s freaking awesome that you’re getting to do that.  Maybe I’ll get to meet him one day?  I promise I will do my best not to drop him.  :)  How is your stepmom?  And your dad?  I bet they’re tired.  My mom says that babies get up in the middle of the night a lot to eat.  I don’t know if I could handle that.  But maybe when I’m older.  Do you want to have kids ever?  I can’t believe I’m asking that.  It’s problematic on so many levels.  But really, do you ever think about it?  I haven’t much, but I have sometimes pictured myself as older, like as old as my dad is, and it seems like when I’m that age there should be some kids around. 

Have a safe trip home on Sunday.  Only a week to go…

Love,

Jacques

 

Friday, July 6, 6:01 PM, Garrett text to group:  It’s a nailbiter, People  Everyone in the top tier got 4 points today with wins by France (Little Spier, Greenfeld, Eisner and Burke) and Belgium (yours truly), so we’re all in the same place relative to each other as we were before this round.  Spier, Morgan, Anna and Suso, sorry, guys, but you are done.  Totals as of today are Greenfeld still hanging on with 27, Little Spier at 26, Eisner and I have 23, Burke has 22, Simon, you’re out with 12, followed by Suso done at 10, Morgan 8 and Anna 7.  Each game is critical now.  Four points for any wins tomorrow, 8 for any team in the final, 16 for a championship and don’t forget 8 for a third place win, so it’s still wide open!

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 6 at 11:30 PM

SUBJECT:  Babies

Jacques,

A week to go, wow!  And you’re already talking about babies.  You might scare me off, Jacques.  I’m only 17.  I’m not ready for babies just yet.  I had a class in middle school where we drew a partner out of a hat and each pair of kids had to take care of a five-pound bag of flour with a face drawn on it for a week.  Our bag of flour was actually missing almost half the flour by the end of that week.  My teacher tried to act disappointed, but we were only 13 and looking back, now that I think about it, my teacher was doing all she could not to burst out laughing.  The girl I was partnered with was about to cry, so it was a good thing my teacher was so cool.  But man, I knew I didn’t want to have a kid any time soon.  But maybe when I’m an adult.  Caleb is pretty cool as far as I can tell.  I think he’s going to have a lot of spunk.

Have a safe trip up to the lake.  Don’t forget about me.

Love,

Blue

 

Saturday, July 7, 6:16 PM, Garrett text to group:  Wow, can you believe it?  Talk about great work in goal by Pickford!  For any of you paying attention anyway…  Yes, that means that England’s into the semis and Little Spier and I each got 4 pts today.  Woohoo!  So right now, Greenfeld and I are at 27, Burke’s out with 22, Eisner’s out with 23, and Little Spier is in the lead with 30, and the only points still on the table are France into the final (Little Spier), Belgium winning the 3d place game (me) or France winning the 3d place game (Greenfeld), all at 8 pts apiece.  Go Belgium!

Leah to group, 6:18 PM:  You got this, Nora.  No way is France losing to Belgium.  Emoji girls rule.

Nick to group, 6:20 PM:  Since when do you know soccer, Leah?

Leah to group, 6:21 PM:  I’m a soccer maven, remember?

Garrett to group, 6:22 PM:  Yeah, she is!

Nick to group, 6:23 PM:  Shut up, Garrett!  I’m going swimming in the ocean one last time.  Back in GA tomorrow.

 

Abby to Nick, 6:24PM:  Can’t wait to see you, Sweetie Pie!  Xoxo

Nick to Abby, 6:25 PM:  Me too to you Babe.  But I AM NOT A PIE.  Xxooxoxoxoxo

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 7 at 8:02 PM

SUBJECT:  Trip

Blue,

Forget about you?!  I would never.  The lake is awesome though.  It’s really warm this year, and we’ve already been swimming.  We got up before dawn and took a 7AM flight to Boston and then drove up to New Hampshire and then kissed my grandma (Grammy) and grandpa (Grampy) hello and changed clothes and jumped in the lake.  Grammy and Grampy came in too after a while and even jumped off the swimming dock once.  They are so awesome. 

Then we just grilled out and then I snuck off to email you.  I don’t have long though because I promised my older sister I would play backgammon.  I think my friend and my little sister and Grammy are going to make a blueberry pie before bed, and Grampy and my mom and dad are watching baseball or something.  It’s basically a perfect day (except that you’re not here).

Gotta go win backgammon.  Has to be better than my World Cup performance.  In case you’re wondering, Mr. Nosy, I’m out.  No teams left.  :(

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 7 at 11:22 PM

SUBJECT:  Out Again; You?

Blue,

Well, I trounced my older sister in backgammon twice.  Then she went off to call her boyfriend.  He’s pretty cool, I guess.  Anyway, then I was talking to Grammy while I ate some of the blueberry pie she and my little sister and my friend made tonight.  Talk about tasty!  But I digress.  My grandma was asking me what I had been up to recently and if I was seeing anyone special.  She’s really great.  I mean, she’s my dad’s mom, and he’s pretty chill about just about everything, so anyway, I just said I was sort of seeing someone.  And you know what she said?  She said, “What’s his name?”  Can you freaking believe that?  I think I just stared at her for like a whole minute.  My mouth might have even been hanging open.  So I asked her how she knew and how long she had known.  And she said she had known for a while.  She said I had a vibe!  That’s the exact word she used.  “Vibe”!  And I asked her why she hadn’t said something before and she was so funny.  “I thought you already knew, Dear!” she said, with this innocent look on her face.  It turned out to be really funny.  Then Grampy walked into the kitchen where we were, and he asked what we were laughing about and Grammy said, “Simon was just about to tell me about the boy he’s been seeing,” like it’s no big deal.  And Grampy said, “Boy?  Wouldn’t he be at least a young man at their age?”  I just started giggling and couldn’t stop for like five minutes.  So then I told them about you.  I have the awesomest grandparents ever.  And they’re way more clued in than my dad, who didn’t have any idea that I was gay until I told him.  Maybe being clued in skips a generation.  But I’m clueless a lot so maybe the clued-in genes went to my sisters.

Did you come out to your dad and stepmom?  I feel like I’ve been coming out to people constantly since we started this whole thing a few weeks ago. 

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 7 at 11:30 PM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Out Again; You?

Jacques,

Your Grammy and Grampy do sound great.  And yes, I did come out to my dad and stepmom.  You know what my dad said?  “Wow.  Well, you know, Son, Casanova was bisexual.”  I just stared at him.  I couldn’t believe that that was his response.  I guess it could have been worse, like he could have rejected me, but he was so awkward.  Thank God for my stepmom.  She hugged me and said how thoughtful it was for me to have come to tell them in person and thanked me for telling them.  I’m not sure my dad deserves her. 

Well, I need to get some rest.  I’m leaving in the morning after breakfast to drive home.  Can’t wait to hear more about your trip!

Love,

Blue

P.S.:  I’m sorry you don’t have any teams left in the World Cup.  Doesn’t seem right that choosing teams based on player hotness wasn’t a winning strategy.  My more traditional way of choosing teams has served me fairly well, but I am down to just one team left myself.  Perhaps next time we could come up with a weighted system where teams get points for skill, coaching and hotness.  Hmmm.  We’ve got four years to refine our system.  (We could work on this for the women’s World Cup next year, I suppose, but I’m not a very good judge of female hotness.  Maybe you are better at that?)  And I have noticed that there’s a pretty high hotness level generally, ever since your innovative way of thinking of the game permeated my consciousness.  How on earth did you manage to decide which teams were the hottest?

 

Tuesday, July 10, 6:29 PM, Garrett text to group:  Well, that’s it, People.  Little Spier has done it with a win by France.  Now, even if Belgium or France gets third, neither I nor Greenfeld can catch her.  Congratulations, Nora, with 38 pts!  And remember everyone, trophy presentation at my house Sunday during the finals, France v. either Croatia or England, depending on who wins tomorrow.  Game starts at 11:00, so for those of you who go to church, go to your early service or skip church altogether and come on over to my house.  Greenfeld, bring some cokes, Eisner, bring some chips.

Abby to group, 6:33 PM:  Way to go, Nora! 

Nick to group, 6:34 PM:  Why do I have to bring chips? 

Bram to group, 6:35 PM:  Because we are the hosts, as the resident soccer players, Nick.  Try to be gracious.

Simon to group, 6:38 PM:  Yeah, Nick.

Nick to group, 6:39 PM:  But I thought Leah was a “soccer maven.”  Why doesn’t she have to help host?

Leah to group, 6:40 PM:  “Maven” isn’t the same as a player, Nick.  Get it together.  And woohoo, Nora!! 

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 10 at 11:56 PM

SUBJECT:  My Sister Rocks

Blue,

My little sister won the World Cup!  Well, obviously, she didn’t win it, but her bracket was the best of our group so far, and no one has any teams left, so she wins.  I have no idea how she did that.  Obviously, I didn’t help her.  Another friend was ahead but somehow, I guess he wasn’t a connoisseur enough to know more than my sister.  :)

I miss you.  That sounds weird, right?  We don’t actually see each other.  (Or do we?)  But for the first time, I actually want the end of vacation to come fast.  I just want to get back home to see you.  God, I sound needy.  I’m not, really.  Promise.  But I do want to meet you in person.

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 11 at 12:30 AM

SUBJECT:  Miss You Too

Jacques,

Good for your sister!  Perhaps she just knows a lot more and put in more effort than the other people in your group?  Perhaps the person she beat out at the end was distracted when he put together his bracket due to big life events and didn’t concentrate as much as he should have?  Or maybe your little sister is just that good! 

I don’t think you sound needy.  Rest assured, I too am excited about meeting.  Unfortunately, I am stuck Saturday night.  My dad is coming into town just for the day because he felt like we left things in an awkward place last week, so he wants some bonding time.  I can’t say no to more conversations about how Casanova is bisexual, can I?  But he’s only going to be here Saturday, driving in that morning, staying the night, and leaving first thing Sunday morning.  Sorry.  But we’ll get together Sunday for sure.

Love,

Blue

 

FROM:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

TO:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 11 at 12:34 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Miss You Too

Blue,

I understand about your dad.  But I can’t say I like it.  :(  We have waited so long!  And Sunday, I have to go to a World Cup party.  My little sister won, so I can’t miss it.  So I guess we will have to see how things go Sunday.  We have to make this work.

Love,

Jacques

 

FROM:  [bluegreen118@gmail.com](mailto:bluegreen118@gmail.com)

TO:  [hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com](mailto:hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com)

DATE:  Jul 11 at 12:36 AM

SUBJECT:  Re:  Miss You Too

Jacques,

I have a commitment Sunday during the World Cup finals as well.  But we will definitely meet on Sunday.  For sure.

Love,

Blue

 

Simon knew Bram was Blue for certain by this point, and he knew Bram knew he was Jacques, but he enjoyed the game they were playing.  But he was getting so worked up he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to make it to Sunday.  He felt like he was going to burst.

 

Wednesday, July 11, 7:08 AM, Abby to Leah, Morgan, and Anna:  How great is it that Nora won!  We should do something special.  Celebrate girls beating the guys sort of thing.  Leah, since you’re out of town, would it be okay if I brought cake?  Any suggestions as to where to get it?

Leah to Abby, Morgan and Anna, 7:10 AM:  Definitely on the amped up celebration and the cake.  Publix makes a good sheet cake.  And I was thinking we could maybe learn “Nobody but Me” by The Human Beinz and play it at the party.  It would be rough, but it would be fun and a reason for all of us to practice.

Anna to Leah, Morgan and Abby, 7:16 AM:  Good Lord it’s early.  But I’m in.  What is this song?

Morgan to Leah, Abby and Anna, 7:18 AM:  Me too.  Is Taylor back in town?  And who will play lead guitar?  And who are The Human Beinz?

Leah to Abby, Morgan and Anna, 7:19 AM:  The Human Beinz is an old band that recorded Nobody But Me in the 60s.  It has the NoNo, No, No, No NoNoNoNo No, No line in it that Simon keeps putting in his texts about Nora.  YouTube it.

Abby to Leah, Morgan, Anna and Taylor, 7:28 AM:  I just talked to Taylor and told her about what we’re thinking about doing.  She’s back in town.  Adding her to this thread.  Hi, Taylor!  How was acting camp?

Taylor to the girls, 7:29 AM:  Hey, Everyone!  So glad to be back from theater camp in time for this!  Wish I had known about the contest.  I might have been a contender.  I watch a lot of soccer.

Leah to the girls, 7:30 AM:  You do?

Taylor to the girls, 7:31 AM:  Oh, absolutely.  The better to be able to see cute soccer guys.  And I actually used to play before the acting bug hit and I went with where my talent lies.

 

Leah to only Anna, Morgan and Abby, 7:32 AM:  [eyeroll emoji]

 

Anna to the girls, 7:32 AM:  Leah, if you’re out of town all week, how are we going to do this?

Leah to the girls, 7:33 AM:  I’ll practice up here pretending to play and just have to do my best on Sunday.  It will be okay.  We should plan on getting together Saturday sometime.  My flight gets in at about 2:00, but if people are working that day, we may have to do it Saturday night. 

Morgan to the girls, 7:36 AM:  I just checked out the song.  It’s perfect, but I don’t think there are any keyboards.  There’s no keyboard player in that band anyway.  I’m free Saturday night, though.

Anna to the girls, 7:37 AM:  I’ll ask Alice to cover for me at the book store Saturday night.

Taylor to the girls, 7:38 AM:  I don’t start working at the last session of children’s theater camp until Monday, so I’m free Saturday.

Abby to the girls, 7:39 AM:  I work lunch shift on Saturday, so I’m there.  Want me to ask Nick to fill in on guitar, since Nora won’t be playing?

Anna to the girls, 7:40 AM:  Yes, definitely.  I don’t think I could learn the lead part quickly enough.

Leah to the girls, 7:41 AM:  Maybe Garrett could help us write a keyboard part.  Why don’t you ask him, Morgan?

Morgan to the girls, 7:43 AM:  But he has the hots for you, Leah.

Leah to the girls, 7:44 AM:  Maybe.  But you’re the one who thinks he’s “earnest.”

Morgan to the girls, 7:45 AM:  And cute!  Okay.  I’ll ask him.  And maybe he could fake his way through the drums part for our practice sessions since Nick will be playing guitar.

 

The modified Emoji managed to practice the new song a few times that week.  Garrett added a keyboard part for Morgan and not-very-ably filled in on drums.  Leah, for all her texting confidence, was so freaked out about trying to practice without actual drums or the band that she was pretend drumming whenever she thought no one was looking, which was hard given that she was surrounded by Spiers.  By Friday afternoon, Simon finally said something as they sat on the swimming dock, no one else around.  “What are you so nervous about?” he asked.

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. You’ve been drumming, sort of, constantly for the last few days.  What’s up?”

So Leah told him about doing “Nobody but Me” at Garrett’s party on Sunday for Nora. 

Simon grinned.  “That’s epic,” was all he said. 

“And what’s up with you?” Leah asked.  “You’ve looked like you were going to jump out of your skin for the past few days.”

So Simon told her about the latest emails from Blue and how he knew they both knew who the other one was and were sort of playing a game and that he could hardly wait until Sunday.  He was blushing and wiggly and grinning and a ball of energy.

“Well, it’s about time you two hooked up,” she said, laughing and thoroughly happy for Simon.

“Bram is soooo cute, right?” asked Simon.

“Yeah, he is,” agreed Leah.  “And I approve.”

“Why, thank you,” said Simon, in a mocking tone.  “I wasn’t actually seeking your approval, but thank you anyway.” He smiled.  “But really, do you think Bram and I have a chance together?”

“Of course I do,” said Leah.  “I would tell you if I thought it was a bad idea.”

“You don’t seem surprised that Blue is Bram.”

“I’m not,” said Leah.  “You’ve called him ‘Cute Bram’ several times, and from the things you told me about him, we figured it out a while ago.”

“We?”

“Alice, Nora and I.  Don’t worry, we haven’t been talking to anyone about it.  We’re just happy for you.”  Then she splashed him and said, “Race you to the beach!  I’m starving!” and dove off the dock.

“Hey, wait up!” Simon said, diving after her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Nobody but You" is a real song by The Human Beinz, and it has been going through my mind the entire time I have been writing this story, so I decided to work it in. I'm not sure I got the no-no part just right, but if you listen to the song, you get the idea.


	10. World Cup Final; Bram and Simon Get Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon and Bram finally get together. Oh, and the World Cup ends and Nora gets her trophy.

After their plane landed, the Spiers dropped Leah at her house and went to pick up Bieber who, despite the fun he had been having at pet camp, was happy to see them and plopped down on the kids’ laps in the back seat of the car for the ride home.

Simon was excited to get home.  By the end of vacation, he had started to feel like a magnet was drawing him back to Georgia, to Bram.  He wasn’t sure how he was going to survive the wait until the next day to formally out himself to Bram.  He needed a distraction. 

When the Spiers got to their house and had carried their luggage to their bedrooms, he wandered into Alice’s room.  “I need your help,” he said to Alice.

“Sure, Bud, what’s up?” 

“Well, I know who Blue is, and he knows who I am, but we haven’t actually admitted it to each other but we agreed to meet tomorrow.  Anyway, Blue is Bram!  Or Bram is Blue?  Whatever.  We’re going to formally come out to each other tomorrow at Garrett’s World Cup party, and I need two little rainbow flags.  Can you come with me to Midtown to find some?”

“THIS IS SO EXCITING!!”

Nora heard Alice and wandered in.  “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Si’s going to meet Bram tomorrow at Garrett’s!!” said Alice.  “Well, you know, not meet him, obviously, but tomorrow’s the big reveal!  We don’t have much time.  I’m covering for Anna at the book store tonight from 6:30 to closing and it’s already four o’clock.”

“Oh, you finally figured it out!” exclaimed Nora.  “Yea!”

Simon blushed.  “I just want a couple rainbow flags,” he said.  “Little ones,” he clarified.  “How long can buying a couple little flags take?”

“You’ve got to get a haircut too though,” said Nora.  “You look like Bieber.”

“Exactly,” said Alice.  “I was just about to say that.  C’mon.”  She grabbed her keys and pushed her little brother out of her room ahead of her.  “We’re going out!” she shouted to their parents, “taking Dad’s car!” as the three of them left the house and headed for Midtown.

“We need to get you a haircut first,” said Alice.  “Places are going to close soon.  Do you think your hairdresser could fit you in last minute right now?”

“Hairdresser?” asked Simon.

“He just goes wherever, whenever,” said Nora.

“OMG,” said Alice, and Simon realized that’s where Nora had picked up the habit of talking in text-speak recently.  “We’re just going to have to find someplace that takes walk-ins, and we have to find someone fast.  Si, how could you?”

Simon was confused.  How could he what?  He thought he looked fine.  He just wanted his rainbow flags.  This wasn’t supposed to be that hard.  Then again, he figured his sisters were right.  So he let himself be dragged into a hair salon that took walk-ins, Alice told the very young hairdresser what Simon needed, and Simon just sat back and let it happen. 

When they left the hair salon, Nora said, “Oh, Si, that’s so much better!” about his hair.  Simon thought it didn’t look that much different, although he supposed it was lying down a little better than usual.

“Can we get my flags now?” he asked.

The three of them wandered around a little and finally found a store near Piedmont and 10th that had the little flags.  Then they took a selfie in the rainbow crosswalk before heading back to the house.

When they got back to the house, Alice dropped Simon and Nora off and headed back out to the book store. 

Their mom greeted Simon and Nora at the door.  “Hey, you two.  What did you rush out of here to do?  I thought you would be exhausted from the trip.  Ooh, Simon.  Nice haircut.”  She paused, thinking, and looking back and forth between the two of them.  “What’s up?” she asked, suspicious.

“You going to tell her?” asked Nora, looking at Simon.

Simon was starting to blush when their dad walked up.  “Hey, Si, hey, Nora, what’s up?  Nice haircut, Si.”

Nora was smirking.  Simon realized he might as well spill the beans.  Otherwise, Nora would.  Her self-discipline only went so far.  “Um, I’m going to meet Bram tomorrow,” he stammered.

“What?” asked Emily, confused.  “You already know him.”

“Well,” started Simon, and then he clamped his mouth shut and just stood there for a moment, while the others waited for him to go on.  He looked at the ground and bounced slowly up and down on his toes.  “Yeah,” he started, then paused again.  He looked at his parents.  “This is different.  He’s Blue and Bram but tomorrow he’ll just be Bram and I will just be Simon, not Jacques.”  He paused and then added, “and I got him a flag because he mentioned in one of his emails that he doesn’t have one.”  He opened his bag and pulled out a flag and waved it back and forth a few times.

Emily and Jack were thoroughly confused, so Simon gave them a condensed version of the Blue/Jacques story.

“Oh, Simon!” exclaimed Emily, after he finished.  “That is so romantic!  I want to meet him.  He sounds really special.  Can we do that?”

“Mooom!” protested Simon.  His mother looked at him expectantly, not seeing the problem.  Simon was mortified.  Romantic?  He was gay, not a thirteen-year-old girl.  Romantic?  Jeez.

“This is ‘Cute Bram’ from the movies, right?” she asked.

“Yes,” Simon admitted. 

“I don’t understand the problem,” said Jack.

“I think he wants to get to know Bram as Bram and not just through email a little bit before thrusting him into Spierworld,” said Nora, perceptively, as Simon, bright red by this time, just nodded.

Simon added, “and don’t say ‘romantic,’ Mom.  That’s a girl word.”

Jack finally got it, and said, “I guess we might be a little overwhelming?”  Simon nodded.  “Okay, then.  But we want to meet him soon!” Jack grinned. 

Emily hugged Simon.  Simon couldn’t help himself and grinned and hugged his mom back.  “Thanks,” he said, grateful that his parents seemed to get it for once.

 

While Simon and his sisters were rainbow flag shopping, Bram was hanging out at the hotel with his dad.  They were having some trouble finding things to talk about, and the World Cup third place game was already over, Belgium having defeated England, so they had a baseball game on, although neither one was paying much attention.

Bram’s dad finally clicked off the television and turned sideways on the couch to look at his son.  “Bram,” he started.

“Yeah, Dad?”

“I’m not very good at this, but I want you to know I’m okay with you being gay.”

“You are?”

“Well, yeah, I am.  I frankly don’t care if you’re gay or straight or in between.” 

Bram stared at his dad, trying to figure out where the conversation was going.

“That sounded a little harsh, didn’t it?  Like I don’t care about you.  That’s not what I meant at all.”  Bram didn’t say anything but just waited for his father to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is that talking about your sexuality is hard for me because you’re my son and I don’t see you as often as I like and because of that, sometimes, okay a lot of times, I still think of you as my little boy, even if you are six feet tall, and it’s a little embarrassing generally, and, well, a lot embarrassing.”  He didn’t sound like an English teacher at that moment, but rather like a father who was stumbling along doing the best he could.  He continued, “I don’t think of you as a sexual being, but as long as you’re happy and everyone is consenting and careful, whom you have sex with is up to you and I love you regardless.  It’s all just a lot to take in but I’m trying, really, but I think I just kind of suck at this.  Your mother is so much better at this sort of thing.”

Bram’s eyes practically popped out of his head.  And then he snorted, and then he guffawed, and then his dad looked up and started to giggle. 

“Oh, man, Dad.  Yeah, you’re right, Mom is way better at this.  She will talk about anything and everything and has no embarrassment and no fear and I can’t even get her to stop talking.  Do you know how many times I’ve had to listen to the safe sex talk?  I could teach a class on it at this point!  But Dad, I’m not actually even having sex yet.”

“But you will someday, and maybe sooner than you think,” said his father.  “You’re seventeen.  And even though I don’t talk about this kind of thing very well, I’m not blind.  I can see that you’re happier lately than I can remember you being in a long time.  There’s someone special, yes?”

“Well, actually, yes,” said Bram.  And he told his dad about Simon.

His dad, now obviously more relaxed than he had been earlier in the afternoon, said, “Does your mom know about this penpal of yours?”

“Yeah, she does.  She doesn’t know Jacques is Simon yet, but I’ll tell her tonight or tomorrow.  She knows about the emails though.”

“So, are we good?” asked his dad.

“We’re good,” smiled Bram.

“Good,” said his dad.  “Um, I didn’t eat much at lunch because I was so nervous about talking about this, and now I’m starving.  You up for a pizza?”

“Absolutely,” said Bram. 

 

Meanwhile, Emoji was practicing “Nobody but Me” in Nick’s basement.  Nick had gotten over losing in the World Cup contest to Nora and was filling in for Nora on lead guitar, having fun doing the sixties song, which was different than what he usually played, and Abby, though not in the band, was alternating between dancing off to the side and playing games on her phone.  Taylor was, as usual, showing her range as lead singer.  And Leah was catching up quickly to the rest of them, having practiced air drumming in New England as often as she could, which obviously wasn’t the same as the real thing, but it was something. 

Garrett was home, nothing to do, and he took advantage of his quiet evening to practice piano for a couple hours.  He seldom had that much time at home to himself without homework to do before it was too late at night to play, and he relished this rare occasion to play as long as he wanted.

 

The next morning, Leah texted Simon.  Sunday, July 15, 9:30 AM:  Come just a little late so we can get set up and surprise Nora. 

Simon to Leah, 9:33 AM:  What?  Oh, okay.  I wasn’t even up yet.  So what time should we get to Garrett’s?

Leah to Simon, 9:34 AM:  About ten after eleven is fine.  Main thing is not to be early.

Simon to Leah, 9:35 AM:  Roger that.

Nick and Leah got to Garrett’s, with Nick’s guitar and e-kit, at 10:30.  Garrett answered the door.  “Hey, guys!  You’re early!  C’mon in!”  He let them in and helped carry the e-kit into the living room, making a mental note about how hot Leah looked with her hair down and loose, a little wavy. 

“I just thought of something,” started Leah, as she set up the e-kit.  “Are your parents and sister going to be okay with us playing loud music this morning?”

“It’s not a problem,” replied Garrett.  “When I told my parents, they decided to go to church and they’re going out to brunch after with friends.  By the time they get home, we’ll just be watching the game.  And my sister isn’t going to care.  I think she actually hooked up with the guy she’s been chasing all summer.  She’ll probably be doing something with him, but even if she’s not, she’s not going to care about what we’re doing.”

They walked into the kitchen, where Garrett had something simmering on the stove.  “What’s that?” asked Nick.  “Smells pretty good.”

“Cocktail weenies,” said Garrett.  “My mom taught me how to make them with chili sauce, grape jelly and mustard.  Grab a spoon and taste.”

Nick and Leah both took a little taste.  Leah shrugged, but Nick said, “those are really good!”

After eating a couple more, he realized he had left the chips in the car and went to get them.

“So, Simon and Bram,” said Leah, when Nick was out of earshot.

“You know too?” asked Garrett, happy to have something talk to Leah about.

“Yeah.  They’re going to be insufferably cute, aren’t they?”

“Probably,” Garrett agreed.  “But it’s about time.  Bram has been all dreamy about Simon forever.”

“Really?” smiled Leah.  Nick walked in then, with several bags of chips.

The doorbell rang, and Leah went to get it.  Taylor, Anna, Morgan and Abby were there, Abby holding a sheet cake that said “Congratulations Nora!” on it next to a great big soccer ball in blue and white icing.  As they went inside, Leah saw Bram’s car pull up so she waited at the door for him to get there.  She couldn’t help grinning at him as he approached carrying two cases of soft drinks. 

“What?” he said when he reached her.

“Nothing,” she said.  “I’m just happy for you,” and she nudged him with her elbow.

Bram, blushing, said “thanks,” and escaped inside to watch the pregame with Nick and Garrett.

Text from Simon to Leah, 10:59 AM:  We’re on our way.  Nora’s ticked that we’re going to be late.  U ready?

Leah to Simon, 11:00 AM:  Yup.  C u in a few.

Leah reported the text exchange, and the band got set up while Garrett and Abby stood looking through the curtains until they saw Simon’s car a few minutes later. 

The band got ready to play, and Garrett ducked into the kitchen to get the trophy.  Abby answered the door as Simon and Nora came up the walk.  “Hey!” she said.  “Congratulations, Nora!”

Nora grinned.  As Simon’s little sister, she wasn’t used to hanging out with his friends other than Nick and Leah, and had only gotten to know the others recently, since Emoji started.  But she loved Abby’s energy, and the two had bonded quickly.  Abby draped her arm around Nora’s shoulders and said, “We’ve got a surprise.  C’mon, c’mon!”

As they walked into the living room, Leah counted down and the band started playing “Nobody but Me.”  Nora knew immediately what song it was because of Simon singing it to her all the time.  She laughed and started dancing to it with Abby.  When the song ended, she clapped and whistled through her teeth. 

Simon thought, another thing I didn’t know about.  When did she learn to whistle like that?

Garrett walked over with the trophy and presented it to her.  “To the first ever Creekwood World Cup Contest winner, with 38 points, Nora Spier!”  The rest of them hooted and whistled, and Nora held the trophy high over her head, laughing.

Garrett brought out paper plates and napkins, toothpicks, a plate full of bell pepper strips, celery and baby carrots, another plate with cheese and crackers and a bowl of the chips Nick had brought.  “Drinks are in the cooler in the kitchen,” he announced, and he went back into the kitchen as the rest of the gang checked out Nora’s trophy, ate, and watched the World Cup final between France and Croatia.  Shortly thereafter, Garrett joined them, taking the opportunity to plop down on the couch next to Leah.

 

Simon went to the kitchen to get a Coke and Bram nonchalantly wandered in after him and got one too.  As they popped open their drinks, Bram said, his eyes twinkling, “so, did I hear you were at a lake last week?  Looks like you missed a spot with the sunscreen.”  He pointed to a bright red splotch on Simon’s neck. 

“Yeah,” Simon replied, a small crooked smile coming to his face.  “And did I hear that you have a new little brother named Caleb?” he asked, trying to suppress a grin.  Crap, Bram looked hot.  Simon felt like he hadn’t seen Bram in forever and it had in fact been several weeks.  He hadn’t actually seen Bram since the guys had gone to see The Incredibles 2 at the theater.  Simon repositioned himself on the other side of the kitchen island to hide the slight bulge in his shorts.  And he started to blush.  Abby, who noticed everything and could see them from the living room, saw that Simon was blushing as he talked to Bram and that Bram was grinning, and she wondered what was going on.  Leah, who had been dying for this to happen for weeks, ever since she figured out who Blue was, also watched from the living room.  She found herself smiling, which was not her usual demeanor at a party. 

“Yup,” answered Bram, grinning. “Hey, you want to get out of here?”

“But the game just started,” said Simon, trying to contain his excitement and not look too eager.

Bram snorted.  “You’re really concerned about that?  I know you’ve been watching soccer this summer, but I didn’t know you were that into it!”  He raised an eyebrow at Simon.

“Um, hmm, how do I say this,” said Simon, “I actually don’t even know which teams are in the final.”

“Garrett has been sending out those group texts for the last two weeks!” said Bram.

“Yeah.  I haven’t actually internalized anything he has said about the World Cup.  I only entered because it was a good cause and I was hoping it would let me get to know you better outside of email.”

Bram’s eyes twinkled. “So, I repeat, want to get out of here?”

“Absolutely,” grinned Simon.

They left the kitchen and walked to the living room where everyone else was munching on snacks and watching the game.  Well, Garrett and Nick were watching.  The rest of the crew watched on occasion but were also catching up on what they had all been doing the previous few weeks.  Simon, feeling brave, took Bram’s hand.  Bram, surprised, nonetheless curled his fingers around Simon’s. 

“Hey, we’re leaving,” said Simon. 

Abby, outspoken and observant, quickly, as Simon and Bram turned to leave, said “Hey!  Wait!  What’s this?” and she waived her arm up and down at the boys and their entwined hands.

“Um,” said Bram, looking at Simon. 

Simon giggled.  “Okay?” He asked, his eyes silently asking the larger question, whether it was okay to out themselves to their friends.

“Given what we’re doing, yeah, I think it would be odd not to,” replied Bram. 

“All in?”

“Yeah.  All in.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Nick, looking up from the game as he noticed that Garrett and the girls had gone silent.  “Oh!” he said, noticing that Bram and Simon were holding hands. 

Simon smiled.  “Okay, look.  This was not how we planned it.  We didn’t plan it.  At least I didn’t.”  He looked at Bram. 

Bram shook his head.  “Nope.  Not planned.”  Then he added, “Well, sort of planned, at least as to the day.  But otherwise, not planned.”

The rest of the gang, other than Leah, Nora and Garrett, looked at Simon and Bram, a little lost.

“So, here’s the deal,” continued Simon.  “Bram and I are gay and we have been emailing each other for almost a year after he posted on creeksecrets last August and I responded but until recently we didn’t know each other’s actual identities because we were emailing under aliases (well, I’ve suspected Bram was Blue for a while and I think he’s known who I was for a while too).”  He paused for a breath when Bram nodded.  “And we were going to reveal ourselves to each other after we got back from being out of town and that just happened and Bram’s my boyfriend but I’ve never actually kissed him yet because until a few minutes ago we had not even talked to each other as Simon and Bram instead of Jacques and Blue except like at lunch or in class but that was before we were sure of each other’s real identities and now I want to go make out with my boyfriend without the rest of you around.  And if you have any other questions, Leah and Nora can probably fill in some gaps but I really want to leave now.”  And he pulled on Bram’s hand and they walked toward the front door.  Right before he got to the front door he turned back.  “Oh, Nora, here are my car keys.”  He tossed her his keys.  “Can you get someone to drive my car home?”  Not waiting for an answer, he just said “thanks!” and continued to the door. 

Bram called over his shoulder and said, “what Simon said, and Garrett, you can answer questions for me!  Later!”

“Wait!” said Garrett.  “I have something for you.”  And Garrett ran to the kitchen, grabbed a little cooler and handed it to Bram.  “Bring this back to me tomorrow, Bro,” he said to Bram.  He couldn’t hide the smile that filled his face.

“Thanks!” said Bram, smiling back at Garrett, as Simon pulled Bram out the door. 

And they left.

Outside Garrett’s, Simon pulled Bram over to Simon’s car, opened the passenger door, grabbed a paper bag, shut the door, and dragged Bram over to Bram’s car.

“You didn’t lock your car?” asked Bram, ever practical.

“What?” asked Simon.  “That’s what you’re concerned about right now?  And no, I didn’t.  There’s nothing valuable in it, it’s in Garrett’s driveway, and it’s an old Subaru.”

“Used Subarus actually are pretty sought after,” replied Bram, his eyes twinkling, as he tweaked Simon.

“OMG, BRAM!  REALLY?”  They got to Bram’s car, and Simon couldn’t believe this was the discussion he was having with Bram.  After all this time.  So he stopped moving and wasn’t sure what to do next.  First of all, Bram was talking about the Subaru.  Simon was pretty sure Bram was teasing, but he wasn’t positive.  And Simon just wanted to kiss Bram, but whenever he had kissed a girl it was simple, like at the end of a date or if she kissed him first.  He never really cared and it just wasn’t a big deal.  But this.  This!

He should not have worried.  Bram, who was several inches taller than Simon, just bent his head toward Simon and kissed him.  Simon let go of Bram’s hand and put his hand that wasn’t holding the paper bag on Bram’s head and pulled him closer, whining a little bit.  Bram, who had put down the cooler, put his hands on Simon’s waist, and the two of them made out Iike the two teenagers they were until they needed to come up for air.

Simon looked down at the ground and then up into Bram’s eyes. “Wow,” was all he said.

“Yeah,” Bram replied, softly.

Neither noticed that the rest of the Creekwood gang was peeking through the curtains of Garrett’s living room, watching them.

“Um,” said Simon. 

“Hmm,” answered Bram. 

“Maybe we should get out of here?” suggested Simon. 

Bram laughed softly.  “Yeah. We have a lot to talk about.”

“And we were making out in the middle of the neighborhood.”

“That too.  Let’s go.”

They got in the car, and Bram said, “Where to?”

“I know a park on the Chattahoochee that usually isn’t crowded.  Will that be okay?”

“Sounds perfect.“  Bram started the engine but then paused, looked over at Simon and quickly kissed him before pulling out into the street.

“And I thought you were shy!” said Simon. 

“Too much?” asked Bram, a worried look on his face.

“Absolutely not!” insisted Simon.  “I’m just a little surprised.  You’re always so quiet.”

“I was quiet around you,” corrected Bram.  “That’s different.  And we waited a looonng time.”  He looked over at Simon and smiled.  Simon had a goofy smile on his face and Bram laughed.

“What’s so funny?” asked Simon. 

“You have a silly smile on your face.”

“I was just thinking that hopefully we get to do that again.  And again and again.”

“Definitely,” said Bram. 

 

Meanwhile, back at Garrett’s, no one was watching the game anymore.

“Wow!” said Abby.  “So, Leah, Nora, Garrett, y’all knew about this?”

Garrett responded, “well, I can’t speak for Nora and Leah, but yeah, I knew Bram was gay and that he and Simon had been emailing and that they had figured out who each other was and that they were going to get together today.”

Leah added, “yeah, Simon came out to his family and me a few weeks ago and Nora and I both figured out that the guy Simon had been emailing was Bram.  And Simon told me he and Bram were going to come out to each other today.”

“Yeah, I knew they were going to get together today too,” Nora said.  “That’s why Alice and I made Simon get a haircut yesterday.”

“I thought something might be up,” said Anna. 

“I had no clue,” said Nick. 

Leah rolled her eyes.  “Like that’s a surprise,” she said.

And then the questions started, and Leah, Nora and Garrett told the rest of the group what they knew about the original Tumblr post, Bram staring at Simon in eyeliner during “Oliver!,” Simon accidentally referring out loud to Bram as “Cute Bram,” and all the rest of it. 

“They looked so cute together,” observed Anna. 

“Right?” said Abby. 

“Okay, okay, let’s not go overboard,” said Nick, decidedly not into discussing the cuteness levels of two of his best friends getting together.

 

While the Creekwood gang discussed how cute Bram and Simon were, Bram and Simon drove to the park.  It was hot out, and the park wasn’t crowded.  They found a secluded spot under a tree, far from the parking area, and Bram put out a blanket that he had found in the trunk of his car.

“Did Garrett actually pack us lunch?” asked Simon.

“Looks like it,” said Bram.  Inside the cooler were drinks, a thermos with cocktail wieners, a container with crackers and cheese, and a bag of raw vegetables.  He had also put in some plastic forks and two packages of Oreo cookies.

“That’s freaking awesome!” said Simon, when he saw all the food. 

“Yeah, Garrett is pretty great,” agreed Bram.  “But maybe we should talk about something other than lunch?”

Just as he was getting “than lunch” out, Simon leaned over and kissed him, hard.  Before they knew it, Simon was lying on top of Bram, and checking to make sure no one was nearby to see them. 

“Mmmm,” was all Bram said.

“Mmmm?” responded Simon.

“Mmmm,” said Bram again.

After a while, Simon broke away and said, “Um, that was like the best ten minutes of my life.  Ever.”

Bram grinned.  “Ever?”

“Yeah, ever.”

“For me too,” replied Bram. 

“But, uh, can we eat too?” asked Simon.  “I’m kind of hungry,” which was no surprise, since it was almost one o’clock at that point, and the boys had expended quite a bit of energy.

“I’m so glad you said that,” said Bram.  “I’m starving, but I didn’t want to stop kissing you but I’m really hungry.”

Simon laughed and got off Bram so Bram could sit up.

“We should probably talk some too?” ventured Simon.

“After we eat,” said Bram.

They dug into the food, feeding each other occasionally because they thought it was so funny, and relaxed in a way neither had in months.

“So, where did you come up with the Cavani comment after the Uruguay - Portugal game?” asked Bram.

“From the game!”

Bram looked at Simon skeptically.  “And you knew who Edinson Cavani was?”

Simon sighed dramatically. “Okay, look.  Here’s the deal.  By the time we got to the knockout rounds--see how I knew that they’re called that?  I have been learning a lot about soccer trying to impress you--anyway, I knew you were Blue but I didn’t want to come out to the group before you and I had talked and that game was a few days before you went to Savannah so I was focused on finding excuses to talk to you so I knew you and I were the only two who had Uruguay in the quarterfinals.  I wanted to impress you and I wanted to distract the others from the fact that my bracket was not based on who was likely to win so I threw out that comment after watching a highlight video on YouTube.  And Leah backed me up because, you know, she’s my best friend.  Well, she and Nick are, but she’s the one I came out to first.  Until today, Nick had no idea.  At least I don’t think he did.”  He looked over at Bram.

Bram had a grin on his face.  Simon was so adorable. “You’re adorable,” he said.  Simon blushed. 

“You did all that for me, hmm?”

Simon grinned.  “Yup.  So now you’re going to have to come to all my theater productions.”

“I have been already.  That’s part of how Garrett knew.  I dragged him to every performance of Oliver! last spring, and apparently, I stared at you a lot.  Especially that day at school when you came to lunch with the eyeliner when you were between performances.  I came out to him a few weeks ago, but he actually already knew.  He’s been great.  He honestly doesn’t care that I’m gay.  And he obviously guessed that you are too.”

“He hasn’t said anything to me.”

“He didn’t talk to anyone about it.  He said it wasn’t a big deal to him and he figured if I wanted to talk to him about it I would and, if not, that was fine too.  He did make me get a haircut though.  He said that I looked like Shaun the Sheep!”

“I love Shaun the Sheep!”

“Me too!  But I don’t actually want to look like him.”

Simon cocked his head and looked at Bram carefully.  “Well, I think that shipped has sailed.”

“What?!”

“I’m just saying that now that Garrett has put that image into my head, you do sort of look like Shaun the Sheep, that’s all,” and he nudged Bram, and Bram leaned over and kissed Simon. 

“Hmmph,” he said, when he broke away. 

Simon laughed.  “My sisters made me get a haircut yesterday too actually,” he admitted.  “They said I looked like Bieber.”

“Your dog?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they’re not wrong about you getting kind of shaggy.”

“You don’t even know Bieber!”

“You’ve described him enough that I think I have a pretty good idea what he looks like.  Like you, but a dog.”  And that sent them both into a fit of giggles.

Simon and Bram spent the next couple hours talking, kissing, checking to make sure no one was watching them, complaining about the heat, and making out some more.  By late afternoon, they were wiped out from the heat and the post-adrenaline spike and they gathered their things to leave.

“I almost forgot something,” said Simon.

“What?”

“I got us a present.” 

“A present?  I didn’t get you anything.”

“No need.  I got one for each of us.  Here.”

He thrust the little paper bag at Bram.

Bram unrolled the top of the bag and looked inside and then grinned from ear to ear as he pulled out the flags, handing one to Simon.  “We made it,” was all he said, and they waved their flags at each other and kissed again before heading for the car.

**Author's Note:**

> Each character’s World Cup brackets were determined just as in the story, before the World Cup games were played, so which character would have the highest-scoring bracket was unknown when the brackets were created.


End file.
